


The Colors We See

by OpulenceInLife



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Allura and Pidge don't have soulmates, Arguing, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), But not super descriptive i hope, College, Crying Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Depression, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Gay Keith (Voltron), Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Haggar (Voltron) does a bad, Hunay is Minor, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, I'm kinda sorry, Insecure Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), It's gruesome, Japanese Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Kidnapping, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) gets bullied, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Langst, Latino Lance (Voltron), M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Not really rape, Ouija, Pallura is Minor, Personification of Death, Pining Keith (Voltron), Polyamory, Possession, Pre-established Shance, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romantic Soulmates, Self-Harm, Soulmates, Still there tho i love my lesbians, Then keith, Torture, but not really, i guess, i still don't get tags, i think, just forced kissing, keith isn't having a good vacation, let me live okay, lmao he fuckn dead, more like neglect, my boys are stressed, my poor baby, now unstressed, playing calvinball with my own soulmate rules, playing fast and loose with ghost rules, she changes age randomly, shiro and lance angst, that won't last, these boys are sad sad sad, they are happy again!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-23 11:57:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 32
Words: 27,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11401953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpulenceInLife/pseuds/OpulenceInLife
Summary: Soulmates. The person that fate and destiny decided you should end up with. Unless you don't have one. But what if you have more than one?AKA The Shklance Soulmate!AU with pre-established Shance.





	1. Five Years Old

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elfrooted](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfrooted/gifts).



> Hello Hello!
> 
> In general, this fic gets kind of intense, so fair warning my dudes.
> 
> Also this is dedicated to my best friend, beta reader, and boy who is belligerent to my bullshit, Caleb
> 
> He's g r e a t.

The little boy looked up at his mother, taking in her grey eyes and dark grey skin and giggled nervously. “¡Mamá! I’m so excited for kindergarten!” He told her, smiling when her nearly black lips broke into a wide smile as she swooped him up into her arms. She smiled, kissing her son’s forehead as she winked at him and laughed when he tried to wink his blue eyes back at her. “Mi bebé, you’re going to do great.” She assured him as they arrived outside the kindergarten. She gently set him down and walked him inside, smiling softly.

The mother smiled, taking in her little boy’s curly brown hair and bright blue eyes as he waved at her for the fifth time. She smiled, turning away from the cutesy kindergarten and headed on with her day as the puffy white clouds rolled over the brilliant blue sky, reminding her of her favorite son’s eyes. Meanwhile, said favorite son was hanging up his space themed backpack and turning to face the kindergarten children with a face of grim uncertainty, so he put on a smile and headed to the nearest children to try and play. 

He approached a little boy with dark grey skin and a white headband in his black hair playing house with a tiny child with ginormous glasses. He greeted them, “Hi, my name is Lance!” He giggled cheerfully, “May I play with you?” He asked the boy, who grinned and nodded, “Someone else to try my delicious food! Pidge just wants to play with their robot toys. One day, Hunk will be a master chef!” He huffed, pointing to the other child, who glanced up and waved before looking down at the bowl in front of them. They then pointed to Lance, “You’re blue!” They giggled happily before returning to dismantling and manhandling the poor toy. Lance and Hunk looked at each other and shrugged before continuing to play house.

Soon, the group of children circled up and Lance found himself in between Hunk and a pale boy with a band-aid on his cheek, and a noticeable cowlick of black hair sticking straight up from his head. Lance, being ever the mama’s boy, imitated his mother and reached over to fix it, telling the other boy, “Did you brush your hair this morning?” The boy shook his head slowly, “No… but my mommy was a bit too busy this morning to brush my hair for me.” Lance frowned. “What about your papa”, he asked with an innocent tilt of his head. “I don’t have one,” the boy answered. Lance pouted. “Well. You can meet my papa after school then! My name is Lance, by the way!” He grinned toothily and offered his hand to the other boy who smiled brightly and shook his hand in return. “Takashi Shirogane, but my mommy calls me Shiro.” 

 

Suddenly, Lance blinked and he saw. He could see the violet of the band-aid on Shiro’s cheek, and Shiro looked equally as shocked. They both turned to the teacher and hollered for him, making the man jump out of his skin as he tried to calm the other children. “I can see his eyes!” Shiro pointed wildly at Lance, nearly jabbing the poor boy in one of his eyes. “His band-aid is so pretty!” Lance squealed loudly and the teacher merely laughed. “That, children, is color. You boys come with me and I’ll explain. Ms. Summer, I leave you in charge.” He pointed to his assistant before gently leading the two boys to the front desk area of the kindergarten.

Lance and Shiro stared at the teacher, whose light blue shirt they could now tell the actual color of, as he smiled at the boys. “So, Lance, this color is blue. It should look like sparkling waters and cartoonish tears but does not always represent water. Can you really see it?” He asked, picking up a blue binder and showing it to the pair. Lance nodded slowly. “I like that color,” he told his teacher. “Lovely. It’s the same color as your eyes, as Shiro noted earlier,” He said. Shiro meekly raised his hand and the teacher laughed quietly, “Yes, Shiro?” The boy rocked back on his heels. “So, um, Mr. Kaplan, why can’t I see that picture of an apple? My mommy tells me that they’re a beautiful red, but it still looks grey.” Shiro pointed over Mr. Kaplan’s shoulder to a picture of a cartoon apple and worm on the wall. “Peculiar. Boys, you two are soulmates.” He nodded. “Seeing color once you meet each other is the indicator, but I think you may have someone still out there for you…” The boys looked at each other and their teacher confused, before Lance shrugged, “Well that’s nice.” He smiled brightly at Shiro. Shiro laughed nervously, “Are you sure?” Lance grinned proudly, “Of course, I’m sure, Shiro!” The boys headed back to continue with Circle Time as the teacher started upon writing notes to the boys’ families, explaining this situation.


	2. Thirteen Years Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro go to their first dance.  
> Doesn't go as planned, though.

The preteen boy laughed wildly, crossing his arms over his stomach as he doubled over with laughter. Another preteen boy glared at him as he laughed. “You’re the worst.” He huffed, pouting, and turned away to face the wall. The first boy tried to stifle his giggles as he hugged the other. “Oh, you know you love me!” The boy rolled his eyes. “Sadly, the universe decided that for me, Lance,” he teased. Lance gasped. “How dare you! I thought you were better than that, Shiro!” He swatted at his chest before flouncing away. Shiro laughed quietly. “Yeah, yeah, now please help me with my suit. This is our first dance, I want to look good.” He smiled. Lance nodded, “Of course I will.” He smiled, smoothing out his not-quite-but-supposed-to-be boyfriend’s suit jacket and pants.

“You have such horrible acne… and oh honey, those braces… I can’t do anything for that…,” Lance murmured, gently kissing Shiro’s nose when he was finished with his clothes. “Do you have any pimple cream? Or any founding?” Shiro asked, his cheeks slightly red. Lance snickered, “Do you mean foundation? And yes, I have some, but not in your color, doll. You’ll be fine.” He smiled brightly, before smoothing out his own suit. Shiro admired him, smiling goofily. “It’s not fair that you always look good.” he told him, trying to pout but smiling again. “Oh shush. And I never said life was fair.” He hummed, offering Shiro his hand before leading him out of his bedroom down to the living room where everyone was waiting to see the happy pseudo couple. 

Lance was dressed in a light blue suit and Shiro complimented him with his dark purple suit. Lance’s mother gasped, breaking out into a wide grin and a laughing sob. “My beautiful boys, all dressed up for their first dance!” She gasped, immediately hugging both boys. “Mis guapos chicos.” She hummed, kissing both of their cheeks and stepping back to allow the pictures to be taken. Finally, it was time for them to driven to the dance by Lance’s dad, a father figure to them both, and a man of few words and many smiles. When they arrived at the middle school, he told them, “Be safe and take care of each other. But have fun. And stick together.” He smiled before gently kissing Lance’s cheek and hugging Shiro, “Please protect my son.” He whispered in his ear before turning and unlocking the doors. The two boys climbed out and met on Shiro’s side of the car, glanced at each other before taking the other’s hand and heading into the school.

Once inside, Lance let out an airy laugh. They’d been so excited for the dance, which had been extolled as a top of the line bash, but currently, ten people were milling around and six chaperones were chatting idly together in the dimly lit cafeteria. They were playing music from over the speakers but seemed to have forgotten that the speakers were crackly and occasionally made high pitched noises. Shiro and Lance looked at each other and shrugged, “Might as well dance because the refreshments seem to be six vegetable and fruit trays and two bags of chips that had already been mostly eaten.” Shiro told Lance before leading him to the middle of the floor and starting to slow dance with him. 

“I’m glad you came to dance class with me.” Lance grinned brightly as they waltzed together, ignoring the scrutinizing looks they received from classmates and chaperones. “I didn’t think I had a choice, with Julio squeezing my shoulder like that.” He murmured and Lance laughed, “Yeah, but he’s warmed up to you being a bit more than my friend now.” He nodded, leaning forward and quickly kissing his cheek. Shiro smiled at him, “Have I ever told you that you always look good?” He asked him, humming along to the static-filled music. Lance blushed slightly, “Only all the time.” He mumbled, draping his arms around his shoulders.

Then, they bumped into another dancing couple. The girl sneered at them, “What are you doing, freaks?” She hissed and Lance started to edge away. Shiro huffed, “We’re not freaks, we’re soulmates and if you have a problem, you could dance literally anywhere else.” He gestured to the open floor. Lance sighed quietly and shied away to hide behind Shiro, “Leave us alone, Cree.” He mumbled, “Speak up, freak, she couldn’t hear you.” Cree’s boyfriend, Neil, snickered as he tugged on Lance’s hair, hard enough to make him tear up. Shiro whirled around and pulled Lance away, “Leave us alone!” He demanded, trying to protect Lance as Neil grabbed his collar and yanked on it, tearing his suit jacket. 

Lance started to cry, and Shiro looked over at the chaperones, desperate for some sort of help, but they were all ignoring the commotion, preferring to let the children settle their differences and not wanting to get involved. Neil and Cree taunted them, Cree hurling verbal assaults while Neil poked and prodded and tore at their clothes. Eventually, Lance had had enough and pushed Shiro off of him and pushed Neil to the ground before running for the exit. Shiro gave the pair a cold glare, “Do you see what you’ve done? I’ll make you both pay for this.” He sneered before running after Lance.

Lance was outside, sitting by the entrance to the school. Shiro slowly approached him, trying to get his rage at those bullies under control as he sat beside Lance. “Lance, are you okay? Like are you in pain?” He asked softly, gently taking his hand. Lance buried his head into his shoulder, “I’m fine, he just pinched me a bit.” He mumbled, rubbing his arms. “I wish Hunk and Pidge had come. Then at least I wouldn’t feel like garbage and a freak.” He muttered. Shiro hugged him with one arm, holding him tight against his chest. “Hey, look up at me. You’re not garbage. You’re not a freak. You’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. I’m so glad that I’m your soulmate, one of them at least, but I’m so happy to be yours.” He told him, gently holding his cheek and wiping the tear stains off his tan skin. 

“I think they’re just jealous because they’re not really soulmates, not like we are.” Shiro hummed to him, making Lance smile a tiny bit. Lance smiled, “You’re my soulmate, and that will never change.” He told him, his sea blue eyes twinkling as he looked at his partner. Shiro nodded his agreement and started to speak when he was interrupted by a pair of lips on his. He grunted in surprise before realizing that Lance was kissing him and started to attempt to kiss back. Neither was very good at it, but Lance pulled away and started laughing happily about this development. “We should call my dad. I kind of want to go get some actual food.” He nodded to Shiro, whose face was almost ruby red. Shiro nodded dumbly and took out his flip phone and started calling his not-quite-but-already-kissed boyfriend’s dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you spot the references?


	3. Fourteen Years Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro are freshmen now! Who will they meet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will it be Keith?
> 
> Also, if you're curious, the age in the chapter comes from the boy mentioned first.  
> So far, all the chapters started with Lance, but the next one starts with Shiro.

The freshman boy smiled softly as he watched his boyfriend fiddle with his locker. He finally got it open and grinned, “There you go, Lance.” Lance grinned, “Thanks, Shiro.” He hummed, kissing his cheek softly and started putting his textbooks and binders inside. “This is a pretty great place for a locker, plus it’s close to all of your classes.” Lance nodded, “Except for theater and dance.” His partner smiled softly, “Dunno how you manage all that, plus StuCo, Hope, and Unicef.” Lance shrugged, “With great anxiety.” He smiled, before interrupting Shiro about to go on a self-care rant with, “Your acne is clearing up nicely, babe.” Shiro smiled proudly, “Think so? Mom says I’m looking more like a man every day.” He hummed. Lance beamed, “I can agree, you’re much taller than you were in eighth grade.” 

Shiro nodded, “Wow, you are kind of short.” He teased, much to his boyfriend’s indignation. Lance simply rolled his eyes and took out the picture rolls from his pocket of him and Shiro, and another one of them with all their friends and stuck them both inside his locker. “There, now it’s perfect.” He squealed, leaning forward on his toes. Shiro laughed, draping an arm around him, “You should head to class, Lance.” He frowned, “Fine fine, I’ll see you later.” He pecked his lips before heading off to his class. 

Shiro watched him go with a dopey smile before turning around and bumping directly into a girl with a stark white bob that contrasted greatly with her rich dark skin. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” She jabbed at his chest after recovering her footing. “You watch yourself, princess.” Shiro scoffed, trying to sidestep her to get to the ROTC room, but she moved in his way, “In fact, I am a princess! Princess Allura of the island Altea and I demand respect after you nearly toppled me.” Shiro sighed, “I don’t have time for this if I’m honest, but whatever, I’m sorry. I’ll stay out of your way, your highness.” He drawled and pushed past her to the ROTC room.

The freshman boy cheered as he headed to lunch, hoping to find Lance quickly and eat some of his lunch before he can get scolded. “Babe!” He heard him call out and quickly found him… sitting next to… the Princess. Hunk and Pidge were sitting at the table too, and Pidge looked like they were actually enjoying a discussion with someone that they hadn’t known for years. He groaned internally, and the princess - Allure or something like that? - didn’t look too pleased to see him either. Shiro sat on Lance’s other side, “Shiro, meet Allura! She’s a foreign exchange student who’s royalty!” His peppy boyfriend giggled excitedly. “She’s in dance and theater with me!” Shiro gave a pained smile, “I believe we’ve met.” He murmured before standing and catching Hunk by the arm to get him to come along. 

“You don’t like her, do you?” Hunk asked Shiro once they were standing in line. “No, she was pretty rude to me in the hall this morning, and she sounded pretty entitled then,” Shiro explained, accepting whatever it was the lunch lady gave him. “Maybe you should give her a second chance. She’s really nice and pretty smart too. Also, I believe you and her are in the same next class, so you may want to make nice.” Hunk nudged him lightly. Shiro cracked a smile, “Thanks, Hunk, knew I could count on you.” His friend graced him with a big grin and a side hug before taking his seat beside Pidge. 

Shiro took a breath and returned to sitting by Lance, “Hey, Allura, I’m sorry about this morning. Care to start over?” Lance looked confused, but Allura gave a relieved deep breath, “Oh, thank god, I didn’t want you to secretly hate me. Of course. Allura Excalia Whyminelda Kerajaan-Smythe! A pleasure to meet you, Shiro.” She offered her hand. Shiro laughed, “Takashi Shirogane. Lovely to make your acquaintance.” He shook it, which Lance beamed at, “Yay! You guys would be awesome friends!” He cheered, hugging them both. Shiro laughed, before looking to Pidge, “She’s pink.” They informed him, which made him nod. “You’re pink, Allura, great job.” She looked bashful, “I hope that’s good.”  
“It is. Trust me.”  
\---  
“Shiro, I’m so proud of you!” Lance screamed above the zealously celebrating crowd, trying to shove through to get as close to the field as he could. He’d just watched his amazing boyfriend score the final touchdown of the season, securing them an undefeated freshman football season. Shiro noticed him and jogged over, letting Lance throw his arms around him, “You did great out there, Takashi.” He whispered quietly, and Shiro sighed happily, “Thanks, babe.” He mumbled back before giving him another squeeze and jogging back to his celebrating team. Allura patted Lance’s back, “You’re the best supportive girlfriend.”   
“At least I’m supportive, and I’m not staring at the cheerleaders’ legs.”   
“Shush, before you lose your tongue.”  
\---  
“Great show!” Shiro cheered as the curtain started to draw to a close. He maneuvered through the applauding crowd with his friends on his tail. He snuck backstage with Hunk and Pidge to find Allura and Lance and commend them on their amazing performance of Romeo and Juliet. “Fantastic work, guys!” Hunk cheered, hugging them both once they were found. Allura squealed, hugging Hunk tightly back, “That was exhilarating! I feel tingly!”  
“Isn’t it fun?” Lance squealed, messing up her hair before pulling away from their pile on Hunk and heading to the Shiro. He hugged him tightly, smiling softly. “Good job, Lance, but I think I should kiss you, just to say that I’ve kissed you more than Allura stage kissed you.” He chuckled before pressing his lips to Lance’s, who obviously didn’t protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao it wasn't Keith


	4. Sixteen Years Old (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro gets his driver's license! Lance is so proud.

The freshly-licensed-to-drive boy grinned widely as he faced his boyfriend, his favorite blue-eyed beauty, who was squealing happily for him. “You did such a great job, Takashi!” He praised, hanging onto his arm as he peered at his picture, which had turned out surprisingly well. “I can drive now!” He cheered, patting the small of Lance’s back as his mom looked on happily. “Why don’t I take you boys for some ice cream?” She smiled. (She still wanted Shiro to practice more before driving Lance and herself around.) “Sounds good, Mom, I need to go to the bathroom first, though.” He slid the license into his wallet and headed to the bathrooms, stopping only when he saw a girl sitting beside the doors to the bathrooms, crying into her hands. 

“Hey, why are you crying? What’s wrong?” He asked, kneeling in front of her. “My mom is just being rude to me again, trying to convince me not to get my license. She got me last time, but I don’t want to back down again.” She whispered, reaching to wipe her tears and fiddle with her lilac colored hair. “Hey, I know you can stand up to her. You seem like a strong chick. My name is Shiro, by the way.” He smiled at her, offering his hand, but she didn’t take it. “Haggar.” She whispered, eyes wide in shock as she studied him. “Oh, don’t leave me hanging.” Shiro laughed and she frowned, “You don’t see it?”   
“See what?”  
“Oh. Oh no.” She mumbled and shook his hand delicately. “You are my soulmate.” He gaped at her, “I… don’t think that’s possible… I didn’t see any more colors.”  
“Any more?”  
“I have multiple soulmates, but I don’t think you’re one, Haggar. I’m sorry.” He frowned. 

“Of course.” She muttered bitterly, standing up and pushing him to the side as she headed to a woman dressed in a niqab and started talking to her in a foreign language. Shiro frowned to himself and headed to the bathroom before heading back to Lance and his mom. “Let’s go.” He murmured solemnly. They both frowned and threw a concerned glance at each other. “In the car.” He sighed quietly before heading to the doors.

“So you’re her soulmate, but she’s not yours?” Lance frowned, holding Shiro’s hand tightly as they sat together in the backseat. “Apparently! I feel really bad because it seemed like she was already pretty down on her luck, and now the person she’s destined to be with isn’t destined to be with her.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You can’t do anything about it, son, and it isn’t your fault, so let it go.” His mother murmured from the front seat as she drove them to Lance’s home. “I promise it isn’t your fault, Takashi.” Lance added, kissing his cheek gently. “Thank you so much, you guys,” Shiro smiled a bit, returning the kiss on his forehead, “Don’t know what I’d do without you two.”   
“I know, you’d be useless without us, dear,” His mother chuckled when she dropped them off at Lance’s house, “Don’t forget to drop by the store and pick up some milk and eggs!” She smiled, handing him some money before heading off to work. Lance grinned and nudged him, “Wanna go play video games or something?”   
“Sounds perfect, Lance.” He grinned, kissing his cheek slightly while feeling someone staring at him. But he ignored it and headed inside with his boyfriend.

Shiro stood on the porch, his arms crossed over his chest as he said goodbyes to the entire McClain family, “See you guys soon!” He called as Lance stepped out to walk him down the driveway. “They’re so embarrassing.” He mumbled, his cheeks tinged red. “Oh, I like them.” He nudged him, “Don’t worry about it, okay, Lance? I’ll see you soon.” He nodded, kissing his forehead. “You sure you don’t want a ride?”  
“I’ll be fine, promise. I’m a big boy.”  
“Certainly. See you later.” Lance smiled, leaning up to hug him tightly before heading back to his house. Shiro waved after him with a goofy smile on his face. 

Then he headed to his apartment building, stopping at a CVS on the way and getting a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs, just like his mom instructed. He was about to head on his way when he heard a scuffle in the alleyway. He bit his lip before heading towards the sound, “Hello? Anyone there?” He called, opening his mouth again but shutting his quickly when a man stepped out from a pile of boxes. “Sir? Are you alright?” Shiro asked, frowning as he stepped a bit closer to the man. He wasn’t very intimidating, leaning on a cane and pushing his glasses up his nose. “I...uh… found a kitten. I was trying to figure out what to do. Could you help me?” He asked timidly, glancing around nervously. “Uh, sure. Is it hurt?” Shiro asked, walking over to the man. “Where is it?”   
“Under those boxes.” He pointed with his cane to a small alcove in the pile of boxes. “I don’t see anything…” Shiro frowned, leaning closer. “I’m sorry.” The man whispered, raising his cane above his head. “What for?” Shiro turned, only to receive the golden ball of the cane to his temple. He went down, dropping his bag of milk and eggs as his vision went blurry. His last sight was a tan, feminine hand pointing to the man aggressively before the man clubbed him again across the nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who is that? And what exactly do they want with Shiro?


	5. Fifteen Years Old (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's been kidnapped! Lance is stressed! Hunk wants to go back to bed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason this is 15 years old instead of 16 years old is because it starts Lance, but it's still a continuation of 16 years old.
> 
> Notice!  
> Mild gore, forced consent for kissing, minor character death, kidnapping, torture

Lance was having a panic attack. He’d been woken up at two in the morning by Shiro’s mom calling to ask where her son was. When he’d said that Shiro had left hours ago, the line went dead. Now, Lance was curled up in the bathtub, crying his eyes out into one of Shiro’s sweatshirts as he called Hunk again and again with shaking hands. A few of his siblings and parents were outside, knocking at the door to try and coax him out, but he barely heard them over the blood rushing in his ears. 

Shiro was missing. Nowhere to be found. His soulmate. His best friend. He’s gone. Hunk finally picked up, about to tell Lance off for waking him when he heard the muffled sobs. “Lance, what’s going on? Talk to me!” Now he was worried. Lance rarely cried, unless he was watching a movie or having a panic attack, and it seemed to be the latter this time around. “Sh-shiro. O-oh god…” He managed to get in between deep, snotty breaths as he tried to stop crying. “What?! What about him? Where is he?”  
“He’s go-one!” He cried, sniffling and hiccupping again. “Oh god. Calm down, Lance. Take deep breaths, okay? It’ll be alright. Shiro will be fine. When has he ever disappeared on you? He’ll be okay, I promise.” Hunk murmured to him, getting dressed as fast as he could. 

Lance took deep breaths while listening to Hunk explain why he needed the car at this hour. “I’ll be there soon, Lance, stay calm, okay? I’m putting you on speaker.” He told him, then set his phone down and put it on speaker. “Can you hear me?” Lance nodded numbly before remembering that Hunk couldn’t see him and mumbling a quiet, “Yes.”   
“He’ll be okay! I promise, Lance. No need to worry.” Hunk assured him in a soft voice. Then Lance screamed, a bloodcurdling scream, full of panic, fear, and worry.

Shiro woke up with a banging headache, grimacing while he sat up. Or tried to. He was currently laying down on a couch in what looked to be somebody’s basement, tied up in out of reach knots as a TV played across from him. His breathing started speeding up before he took a deep breath and started to assess the situation. He wasn’t hurt, except for the wound on his head, which had been taken care of. There was no immediate danger, besides being tied up. He wiggled experimentally, testing his bonds. They were pretty tight, but he might be able to undo them. He started working on them, trying to keep his breathing light in case his kidnapper hears him. 

Then he heard a door open and tried to look like he was sleeping again, wishing he could get a glimpse of the vile person when he heard a familiar voice. “Oh, Shiro. I think destiny got it wrong.” Haggar murmured, setting down a tray of dishes. She gently stroked his shoulder while Shiro tried not to shudder at her touch. “Time to wake up, Shiro!” She cooed, gently cupping his cheek. “Why are you doing this?! Let me go!” Shiro shouted, eyes popping open and burning with fury. “No need to be feisty, Shiro, this was meant to happen.” She hummed, putting a hand on his chest and tittering at his anger. “You’re so handsome when you’re angry. I’m sure you’re hungry, though. Would you like some chicken and rice? Didn’t know what you liked, so I made you this!” She smiled, pinning her lilac hair up before moving Shiro into a sitting position. 

“Stop this! This won’t make me love you! Let me go, please!” He pleaded, thinking only of Lance. He craved seeing him again. Haggar sighed quietly before slapping him across the face, “I suggest you rethink that statement.” She sneered, looking like an angry witch before sitting beside Shiro. “Now open up, I’m sure you’re hungry.” She hummed, scooping up a forkful of chicken and rice. “No.” He muttered, turning his head from her. “This isn’t right, and you know it isn’t.” He whispered. She exhaled loudly and grabbed his head, turning it and forcing his mouth open with a strangely calm expression. She shoved the food in his mouth, “Chew it, Shiro.” She hummed. He wrinkled his nose at her before spitting the food back out at her. “I won’t be your toy.” He whispered defiantly. “But I can break you like one.” She sneered.

Shiro howled, tears streaming through the sweat on his face. He screamed and screamed, and Haggar watched idly, holding a bloody ball peen hammer as she went through her phone. Shiro’s voice went hoarse as he panted raggedly, staring at the mass of flesh, blood, and bone that used to be his right hand. “You done?” She asked, raising an amused eyebrow at him. “You should learn to love me if you don’t want this to happen again.” She sneered, stamping over to him and grabbing his face with bloody hands. “Kiss me, Shiro.” She breathed teasingly. “Do it.” She demanded, squeezing his arm tightly and digging her nails into his skin. He gasped in pain and forced himself to lean up, feeling like a wooden doll, being used and broken for Haggar’s pleasure. 

He pressed his lips to hers and felt cold and empty, nothing like the warmth and love he felt with Lance. More tears slipped from his eyes as Haggar pulled away. “You need to kiss me like you mean it.” She hissed, picking up the dropped mallet and caressing it while looking at Shiro like prey. “You’re mine, Shiro. Whether you like it or not.” She cackled, leaving the room and shutting the door, leaving Shiro in the dusty, bloody bedroom with no light. He shuddered, starting to sob and hiccup, thinking of his mother, his friends, and Lance. What he’d give to see them again. 

Then the door opened again and the man who had clubbed him stepped in, holding a first aid kit. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered, kneeling by the bed that Shiro was strapped down to. He numbed his arm before trying to wrap up the bloody, broken hand. “What is wrong with her?”   
“This is partially my fault. When she stopped wearing her hijab and dyed her hair, we were so hard on her. And then the whole mess with you, and she snapped. My little girl is dead, and that monster took her place.” The man mumbled. 

Then the door was kicked open, Haggar standing there with her hammer. “You insolent worm!” She screamed before throwing the hammer at her father. He turned to Shiro and whispered, “I belie-” as the hammer smashed into his skull, taking him to the floor. Shiro turned his head and vomited, now crying harder as he watched blood and brain matter pour from the poor man’s head. His daughter laughed and berated his corpse in her foreign tongue. She yanked the hammer from his cranium and turned to Shiro, looking crazed. “Do you believe him? Do you think I’m a monster?” 

Apparently, the look of unadulterated fear on his face spoke for itself as she started to slam the hammer into his arm, shattering the bones and tearing tendons with a ghoulish expression. Shiro screamed and begged for mercy, passing out for a few seconds from the pain as she crushed his entire right arm under her hammer. She laughed at him, not minding the blood splattering onto her and her clothes. “Well, I guess you’re useless now with that arm. I’ll untie you and you’re going to hug me with the arm you have left.” She cackled at her pun as Shiro’s vision swam. “See Shiro? You’re all mine. And you can’t escape the destiny I’ve made for us.” She whispered as she blurred and faded into darkness.

Hunk screamed and jumped when Lance screamed, swerving in the road slightly. “Lance, you can’t scream wh-”   
“The colors are fading, Hunk!” He sobbed, clutching the lilac hoodie in his lap as it started turning darker and darker. “I need to find him! I have to help him!” He cried, trying to stand up, but he had a serious headache from crying so much. “Wait! You can’t go alone, you may get hurt too!” Hunk protested, jumping out the car after parking haphazardly in the McClains’ driveway and running to the front door, which opened easily. (They rarely locked it, due to all the children coming and going.) 

“Hi Tyler, where’s Lance?” The young boy pointed to the second-floor bathroom just as the door opened and Lance stepped out, scattering his concerned family members. “Someone stop him! He can’t go out there alone!” Hunk ordered, which resulted in two of Lance’s older brothers aggressively hugging their dad as all three made a grab for Lance, who avoided them with ease. “Hunk, you’d better be here to help because I’ll be damned if I let you stop me from helping Shiro.” He whispered into the phone, cracking his knuckles before going into his room and getting dressed. Hunk sighed quietly, hanging up and turning to explain to Lance’s family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you catch the VA reference?"


	6. Sixteen Years Old (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haggar would be pissed. Lance is also kind of pissed off too. He wants his boyfriend.

Shiro bit his lip tightly as he came to, with Haggar draped over him, on her phone. She was careful to avoid his bloodied arm, but she’d done nothing about her father’s corpse. Shiro thought of a plan, and although it was risky, he didn’t really have a choice. He needed to get out of here. He needed to see Lance again. He needed to meet that other soulmate. He needed them. “Haggar, do you want a kiss?” He ventured, moving his functioning arm to move her hair from her face. “Of course I do! Is this a trap?” She laughed, “No, you wouldn’t betray me like that, Shiro. I know you wouldn’t.” She sighed, before moving to lay on top of him and leaning forward to kiss him. 

He brought his hand to her face, leaning forward, before tilting his head forward and cupping the back of her neck before ramming the top of his head into her face. She crumpled, laying flat against Shiro. He reached into her pocket for the keys to the basement and shoved her off as best he could. He climbed out of bed, giving her father’s body a nod as he shuffled to the door. He locked the door behind him and took a deep breath, heading for the stairs of the basement. He started trying the keys, listening out to hear her screaming or attempting to break down the door. 

The door opened and the woman from the DMV stared at him before opening the door wider for him. “Your husband is dead. I’m so sorry.” Shiro told her quietly, holding his shoulder. She gasped quietly and nodded slowly, tears forming in her eyes. “Escape. Go. You have a whole life ahead of you.” She told him, before picking up her phone and calling 911. “If you want to stay, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”  
“I won’t be staying. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Shiro!” Lance sobbed, clutching the lilac hoodie to his chest as he wandered the streets with Hunk. “Oh god, what if we don’t find him?” He whispered, tearing up. Hunk stopped and grabbed his shoulders, “Lance, take a deep breath. Shiro is probably the most capable person we know. He will be fine on his own.” He insisted, pulling his friend into a hug. “You’re right.” Lance sighed quietly, wrapping his arms around him. “Thank you so much.” He nodded before pulling away. He took a deep breath and wiped his tears with the hoodie in his hands. “Alright. How should we-” He was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. 

Shiro’s contact popped up, along with a silly picture of his boyfriend. “Shiro?!” Lance gasped as he answered, “Where are you? Are you okay? What happened to you?”  
“Um… I’m at the corner of Fifth and Main. And no. Not really. Do you know the hospital’s address?” Shiro’s voice rasped through the phone, breathing raggedly. “We’ll find you and ta-” Lance started, but was interrupted by Shiro, “No, you don’t need to see me right now. Go home and try to sleep, okay, Lance?”  
“But…”  
“No buts. My mom will call you.” Shiro said sternly, before hanging up. Lance and Hunk gave each other a concerned glance, “Lance, let’s go home. We heard from him, he’s okay, and he wants you to be at home. Let’s go.” Hunk told him, gently grabbing his elbow. “But what if he isn’t really okay? He sounded like he was super hurt.” He whimpered, trying to pull away. “He’s fine. Let’s go.” Hunk pulled him back to his truck to take him home.

Shiro’s vision swam as he sat at a bus stop, trying to keep his arm from moving too much. “Mommy, what’s wrong with that man?” A little girl asked her mother as they sat on the other side of the bus stop. “Why don’t you ask him, sweetie?” The woman muttered, not looking up from her phone. The girl hopped down and approached Shiro shyly. “Mister, what’s wrong with your arm?” She asked as Shiro gave a tired smile at her curiosity, “A mean girl hurt it because I didn’t like her.”  
“Well, I don’t like her either. That looks like it hurts.” She pointed. “Let’s find some flowers to put on it and make it better!” She squealed and skipped around the bus stop, finding little flowers and pretty weeds to decorate Shiro’s arm with. 

He didn’t mind at all, smiling and telling her that he liked these flowers best or that those flowers were blue and reminded him of his soulmate. “What is your soulmate like?” She asked curiously. “Well, his name is Lance, and he’s so creative and talented and beautiful, but sometimes he doesn’t even know it. I love him a lot.” He told her, smiling fondly. “I hope my soulmate is like that. Except a girl, because girls are very pretty.” She whispered theatrically. “I hope so too.” He nodded, smiling.

When the bus arrived, a woman screamed when Shiro got on, pointing at his arm. “I don’t suppose you’d mind dropping me off at the hospital, would you?” He asked the bus driver, pointing to his arm. The driver nodded numbly and pointed to one of the seats in the front. Shiro smiled and thanked him before sitting down. At the hospital, Shiro got off without any fuss, pressing a wad of cash into the bus driver’s hand as thanks. 

He headed into the hospital and went to the front desk. “Could I go to the emergency room, please?” He asked. She glanced at him before doing a double take and nodding numbly, before paging someone. Shiro started filling out a sheet she gave him, trying his best and being glad that he’s ambidextrous. Eventually, a team of doctors came out and helped him onto a gurney to take him to a surgery room. “Could someone call my mom and let her know I’m okay? I put her number on that sheet.” He murmured, suddenly feeling so so tired. One of the doctors nodded then told him to try and sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro took the bus because he didn't want his mom to have to pay for an ambulance.
> 
> relatable


	7. Fifteen Years Old (Part Four)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro made it to the hospital and Lance has a bonding moment with Shiro's mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this is still continuing Sixteen Years Old, it's Fifteen because it starts with Lance

Lance couldn’t sleep. How could he? One of the loves of his life was fighting for his life (probably) in the hospital, and he had told Lance to just stay at home and wait. He wanted to escape and see Shiro, but he knew that would only make Hunk and Shiro mad at him. He texted Pidge, wondering if they were up in the early hours as usual. He chewed on his lip, wondering if Shiro was going to be okay. “He sounded like he was in pain when he called me…” He mumbled to himself, running a hand through his hair. He sighed and crossed his legs, staying put on his bed and texting Pidge. 

Then, his phone rang. It was Shiro’s mom and as soon as he answered, she started speaking to him rapidly in mingled English and Japanese. “Ms. S! Slow down, I can’t understand you!” He interrupted, leaning forward in anticipation. “Shiro is at the hospital, they’re operating on him, and his arm is so so mangled.” She whispered, sounding so afraid. “Do you want me to come down there, ma’am?” Lance asked hopefully, but his hopes were shot down. “No, Lance. Stay at home. I will call when they’re done with Shiro. Stay safe, Lance.” Shiro’s mom told him before hanging up. Lance groaned loudly, waking up Hunk, who was sleeping on his older brother’s bed. “Wha? What? Lance?” He questioned, yawning as he rubbed at his eyes. “Shiro is being operated on, and I can’t go see him!” He huffed, frustrated. He wanted to see Shiro. He needed to see him. He needed to make sure he was okay.

Finally, Lance received the call giving him the go ahead to come see Shiro. When he and his parents got to the waiting room, Ms. Shirogane was already there, kneeling by a chair where she had propped up her phone with a picture of Shiro. “I pray for his health.” She told them when they came over. “The girl who had kidnapped him had beaten his right arm to a bloody pulp. They had to amputate it.”   
“But he’s alright, right?” Lance asked, kneeling beside her and moving to pray too. His parents stood watch, glaring at anyone who gave them funny looks. “They say he’ll be fine. He needs a prosthetic, though.” She chewed on her lip. 

“Thank you for caring so much about my son.” She told him, putting her hands in her lap and turning towards him. “Of course, Ms. Shirogane. He’s   
my best friend. I love him.” He nodded, a soft sappy smile on his lips. “I hope you two find your other soulmate soon. I’m sure they’ll be lovely.” She smiled, patting his back before standing and picking up her phone, “Would you like to see him first?”   
“No, you should go first.” Lance insisted, shaking his head. “If you say so.”She shrugged as a nurse came over to escort her to her son. Lance took a deep breath and sat down, leaning into his mother. “He’ll be okay, hijo.” She promises, rubbing her favorite son’s shoulder. “He won’t leave you yet.” She smiled, kissing his forehead. He smiled, “You’re right, Mamá. He’d never leave me.”

“Your turn, Lance.” Ms. Shirogane told him as she came back. “How is he?”  
“See for yourself. He’s a bit out of it, though, dear.” She smiled, patting his back before sitting beside Lance’s parents, who nodded their permission. He walked with the nurse, anxiously fiddling with his shirt. He didn’t get much sleep, so it was catching up to him and making him tired, yet he was so excited and worried to see Shiro. “It’ll be okay, kid.” The nurse told him, smiling softly. “He’s doing alright, vital signs-wise. Don’t mess with his IV.” He told him before letting Lance into see him. Lance gasped softly, heading over to Shiro. He took in the bandage across his nose, the marred stump where his arm ended below his shoulder, and the shock of white hair at the tip of his tuft of hair. 

“Oh, Shiro…” He whispered worriedly, taking a seat beside his bed and gripping his hand. Shiro stirred, turning his head to face him, “Lance? What’s wrong? You look so much prettier when you smile.” He mumbled, wiggling his fingers slowly. Lance frowned, “Just worried about you, babe.”   
“No need, I’m fine. They took my arm, but I’m fine.” He waved the stump at Lance, “You still love me, right? Even without it?”  
“Of course, Shiro, why wouldn’t I?” Shiro frowned, “You’re so pretty, and now I’m ugly. They said my nose would scar.” He mumbled, closing his eyes. “No Shiro! You’re still handsome. And even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t care. You’re my best friend. I love you.” He insisted, gripping his hand tighter. “I luh you more,” He slurred, smiling sleepily, “Beautiful.” He squeezed Lance’s hand softly before closing his eyes. “Sleep well, Shiro. Feel better.” He whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips to his lover’s knuckles before laying his head on the side of the bed and falling asleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's coming next chapter!!


	8. Seventeen Years Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new kid in school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's finally arrived

Lance was running late, and he was pissed about it. He had no time to straighten his hair, and Shiro had to go to school early, so he had to ride with Allura. Not that he doesn’t love her, but she’s such a morning person, and Lance is not. By the time he gets to school, he’s already so annoyed and ready to fight. And he nearly did. He was trying to get to his math class when he ran into a slightly shorter guy with long black hair. Lance thought he was pretty, but then realized he needed to be mad at this guy for walking slow as hell. 

“Get out the way, Mullet!” He huffed, trying to get around him, only to be tripped by said Mullet. “Hey! You ran into me! Watch where you’re going, Hobbit!” He sneered. “Geez, I’m so sorry.” Lance drawled, picking himself up off the ground. “Listen, bub. My name is Lance, not Hobbit. And I don’t have time for bra-”   
“Holy shit. You…” Mullet gaped at him, looking nearly afraid. “What? What’s wrong?” Lance frowned, now feeling bad for yelling at him. “I can see them.” He gestured around. Lance cocked his head, confused for a moment. “What are you talking about….er?” He trailed off, not wanting to call him Mullet again. “Keith Kogane.” He mumbled, staring at him. 

Suddenly, Lance blinked and he saw. He glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist that his mom said had the colors of the rainbow and saw the other three colors that previously looked grey. “Your shirt! It’s red!” He gasped, pointing. “You’re my soulmate?” Keith questioned, eyebrows raised high. “Here!” He took a matching bracelet out of pocket. “I’m so sorry for being mean, I had a rough morning.” He apologized, blushing darkly now. He suddenly felt a surge of worry, fretting over whether Keith would actually like him after how he acted. “Don’t worry about it, Lance.” He smiled, taking the bracelet and putting it on. Lance felt as if he couldn’t breathe because of Keith’s smile. “Hopefully you and Shiro get along, but I’m sure you will.” He nodded. 

“So you’re new? I haven’t seen you before.” Keith nodded, “Just moved here. My student aide is Takashi Shirogane, do you know him?”   
“That’s my boyfriend!” He squealed, clapping his hands together. “He’s the best, he’ll be great at showing you around.” He smiled. “Boyfriend?” Keith mumbled, glancing down at his bracelet. “Well of course. He’s your other soulmate.”   
“Does that ever happen?”  
“Well obviously, if I can see red now. Pidge says that he’s purple, so that’s why those probably look like black to you.” Lance pointed to the two darkest beads on the bracelet. “Haven’t you ever heard of polyamory?”  
“Who?”  
“Dios mío.”

After a long discussion at lunch about polyamory and how exactly Pidge operates (“I don’t have a soulmate, and people who mean something to me appear as a range of a certain color. I’m perfectly fine without one.”), Keith told Shiro and Lance that he’d definitely be willing to try and be with them. “Keith, what’s your family like?” Allura asked curiously, sipping from her thermos. “My dads are pretty cool, I guess. Not the touchy-feely type.” He shrugged. “Where did you move from?” Hunk asked. “Texas.”   
“Why don’t you have an accent?”  
“Why would I want to show it in a California school? Huh Lance?”  
“Good point. What do you like to do?” Lance asked sheepishly, attempting a smooth recovery as he slapped Shiro’s hand away from his tacos. “Art and boxing.” 

“I couldn’t box.” Shiro joked which made Pidge laugh and Hunk snicker, but Allura and Lance pouted. “Yeah man, sorry to say it, but you’d probably kill someone.” Hunk laughed which made Keith gasp, “What?!” Shiro held up his right hand and pulled his sleeve up some to show his prosthetic, “I’m like 10% cyborg.”   
“How did that happen?”   
“Crazy girl kidnapped him and then pummeled his arm.” Lance huffed into his drink, glancing at the now completely white tuft of hair. “Oh. Sorry to hear that.”   
“Oh don’t be, it’s not your fault.” Keith nodded slightly, “I know, but it’s still upsetting.” He then asked himself why he felt so strongly for Shiro. “Fuck.” He muttered. “Great. Y’all are so nice. There goes my ‘don’t show your feelings’ policy.” He smiled sheepishly, leaning against Shiro’s other shoulder. Shiro turned red, sipping his water as he and Lance both stared at Keith. Allura tittered, “Well good. Feelings are nice.” She winked at the three boys.


	9. Seventeen Years Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of klance in the middle of shklance

“Yo Keith!” Lance called after spotting him in the hallway and then throwing his arms around him. Keith blushed, hugging him back, He didn’t even know how, but he was falling for him and Shiro fast. “Hey Lance, where’s Shiro?” Lance pouted, “He’s sick today. He still gave me a ride though, the sweetheart.” He smiled goofily, and Keith felt a pang of jealousy, feeling guilty immediately afterward. “Oh, that’s nice.” He mumbled, gently pulling away to get to his locker. 

“Do you want to go on a date after school?” He asked, blushing slightly. Keith froze, “Without Shiro?” Lance laughed slightly, “I mean unless you wanna get sick. We can go to the movies if you want. We don’t have to go places with Shiro al the time, ya know. That’s the point of having two boyfriends.”   
“Oh. Oops.” Keith blushed, looking down. “Don’t worry about it, alright? If you ever feel left out, just talk to us, okay? Communication is hella important.” He smiled softly at him, kissing his cheek softly. “So will you meet me out front after school? My older sister can drive us.” He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I promise she’ll be nice to you.”  
“Sounds nice, Lance.” Keith murmured, blushing softly and feeling happy that Lance cared enough to deliberately hang out with him.

“Why on earth are we seeing Cars 3?” Keith questioned Lance, as he bought the tickets. “Because that’s what I want to see and you weren’t listening when I asked what you wanted to see.” He teased, nudging him with his hip before leading him to the concession stand. “What do you want to eat?” He asked, studying the menu. “Uh… how about just popcorn and a soda?”   
“Boring.” He teased, snickering softly. “You’re so mean.” Keith fake pouted, laughing a bit afterward. “Get used to it, I have a lot of teasing to make up for because Shiro got all of it for twelve years.” He nudged him before draping his arm around his shoulders and ordering popcorn and drinks for them. Keith blushed slightly and felt that jealous pang, feeling silly afterward. 

“Hey, Lance?” He asked softly, fiddling with his shirt. “Yeah, babe?”   
“Am I just an addition? Would you and Shiro have been fine without me? I feel so out of place because you two are so close and I feel like a third wheel in our… relationship.” He rambled on until he was stopped by Lance taking his hand. “Give me two seconds, wait right here.” He nodded, getting the popcorn and buttering it lightly before beckoning Keith over, holding his slushy cup. 

When Keith got over there, Lance started getting the blue raspberry flavor, “So Keith, you feel out of place?” He asked, studying him with a slightly disappointed expression. “Well, yeah…”   
“You see my slushy? So far, I put in blue raspberry and cola flavor. I like it like that, but I also really like cherry flavor and I'm going to add that. Now I'll love it even more. Do you see my point?” He asked, currently adding cherry flavored slushy. Keith bit his lip and nodded, “I do. Thank you.” He said, hugging him tightly after he set down his cup. Lance grinned and hugged him back, “I love Shiro, and I know I'll love you too. You're not out of place. The universe decided that we'd be together, and by God, we're gonna stay together.” He whispered in his ear. Keith flushed, “Thanks, Lance.” He mumbled.

After the movie, Lance and Keith sat together outside the movie theater, eating popcorn and chatting about what they'd just watched. “Honestly, I think they'd repeat the cycle of rookie to pro to mentor.” Keith told him before freezing as Lance took his hand. “Well, they could crank a few more movies out of that, but it'd get old after a while. And maybe they'll repeat Cars 2 and make another one about Mater.” Lance added, not skipping a beat. Keith blushed and nodded, “Yeah… I'd watch it though.” He laughed at himself before shivering when a brisk wind blew. “Fuck, I should've brought a better jacket.” He mumbled, but Lance was already taking off his hoodie and draping it over Keith, “There you go.” He smiled proudly before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. Keith glanced up and smiled before taking a deep breath, “Can I kiss you?” He asked quietly. Lance blushed, “Huh?” 

Keith flushed and lost all of his confidence, “Never mind, it's silly.” He shook his head, blushing darker by the second. “No, no it's not. Did you ask to kiss me? That's so sweet.” He grinned, a blush spreading across his own cheeks. “Please do, if you still want to.” Keith bit his lip lightly before nodding and turning to face him before leaning up and pressing his lips to his. He wasn't exactly the best kisser, with almost zero experience, but Lance didn't mind, looping his arms around Keith to pull him closer. Keith pulled away and smiled brilliantly, making Lance beam back at him, “You have such a gorgeous smile, Keith. Use it more often.” He told him, pecking his lips again before checking his phone. “Oops, my sister's here. We should go towards the lot, so she can see us. Ready to go?” He stood, offering his hand to Keith. “Yes.” Keith nodded, taking it and squeezing tightly for a second. Both boys smiled at each other before picking up the popcorn and heading towards the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is a whole lot of sheith


	10. Notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few things you should know.

Hello, nice to meet you! My name is JJ and I love writing this story and the other little ones I have.  
But, I'm also a teenager in high school, so from July 17th, I probably won't have time to write as I'll be doing summer work (that i put off because why would i do it in June if I'll have to take tests on it the first week of school?). And since school starts on August 7th, I won't be able to write as I assimilate to my new classes (I'm taking an AP class this year!!). Once I settle in, I'll pick it back up, and I'll definitely write on breaks and such. So please don't get upset about less updates.

On the subject of updates, I have four more chapters/ one more part (it's sheith focused, I believe!!) So look forward to that. From now on, I probably won't post two chapters at a time so I can stockpile my chapters for when I have dry periods and can't really write much but still have time to upload. So there's that.

I also wanted to inform you of something in the works. So, you've probably heard of the Avengers, right? Caleb, the loml and my au building partner, and I built an au. It started out as an Avengers au for voltron, but then we started developing it into something different until it was almost an entirely new universe. If you'd like to read about it, the link will be in the notes at the end. We also have a bunch of plota and scenarios that we're gonna write for that and very soon we're gonna be working on "files" for each of the characters, which contains a brief synopsis of who they are before a backstory about how they got on the team in the superhero au. So far, Lance and Allura will be first, then Hunk and Pidge, probably Keith, then Shiro, and Matt will come much later because he's got a lot going on in this au. read: mangst  
So look forward to that.

On the subject of angst, I'd like to tell you the cycle of angst in this story. The order is as follows: shangst ✓, kangst minor ✓, langst minor (in the works rn), kangst major (haha y'all might cry), langst major major (y'all are fucked, it skipped right past major) So have fun with that ;)

I believe that's all I have to say right now, so this is farewell for now. I'll upload soon, promise. Thank you very much for all your support, and it really warms my heart to read your comments. I also obsessively check my stats to see how many kudos and hits I've gotten and I love it so much. Bye bye, lovelies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://quitethemessbian.tumblr.com/post/161512680836/voltron-superheroau-worked-on-with-demosiac-on
> 
> FUCK I FORGOT IT


	11. Eighteen Years Old (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the parents sheith. Cute, right?

The teenage boy huffed at his boyfriends, flicking at his fingers with his metal ones. “Well if you got to kiss Keith first, I’m taking him to a dance first.” Shiro nodded, as Lance shrugged, “Okay, that’s fair, Then who will I go to HoCo with?”  
“Why can’t we go together again?” Keith asked, confused. “Well, Lance got to kiss you first, so I want to do something special with you first. So for our first dance with all of us, you will be my main date. If you want of course.” Shiro explained.

“Hunk said he’d be fine with being my “date”. I’ll have to go clothes shopping with him. Also, we’re all going as a group to dinner, though. Allura’s dads are going to pay for everything we do that night.” Lance told them before pecking both of their lips and heading to find Hunk. Keith laughed softly, “Is Lance always so focused on events like this?”  
“Been like that since seventh grade. Our first dance was a disaster, and I refuse to let our first dance be the same way.” Shiro insisted with a big grin. Keith smiled softly, “I already have a suit, do you?” Shiro nodded, “Well, I guess we’re set.” He laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist. “With all this extra time, do you want to go do something?” Keith shrugged, “Well, kind of wanted to go to the gym. Practice, ya know.”  
“Sounds perfect. Want to go get some clothes to change into?”  
“Like...go to my house? While my dads are there?” Shiro shrugged, “It’d be good to meet them. I am one of your boyfriends, after all.”

Keith was nervous. He hadn’t exactly had a big coming out moment to his dads and the fact that he had two boyfriends? He was scared. He was terrified of them being disgusted with him for having two soulmates, and he was definitely terrified of being left alone again. They’d been sitting in the driveway for five minutes, while Shiro watched carefully. “Do you not want me to come in?” He asked slowly. “You look like you’re panicking.”  
“I am. I’m scared that they won’t want me anymore. I’m adopted, and what if they hate me for having two soulmates? What if they send me back?” He whispered, staring through the glass and at one of the front windows.

Shiro frowned, “Keith, I doubt they’d ever do that, and if they did, you’d be better off without them. I also know for a fact that my mom would do anything in her power to keep you from harm.” He told him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “Whatever happens with them, it’ll be alright because Lance and I will never leave you.” He grinned, “Now chin up. I don’t want your dads to think I’m bad to their son.” He laughed quietly, tilting his chin up to gently kiss him. “Better?”  
“Better. Let’s do this.” He nodded, climbing out the door.

Keith opened the door and expected his dads to be waiting for an explanation about the handsome stranger that happened to be his boyfriend. Instead he was greeted with Thace and Ulaz attempting nonchalance as they lounged on the couch, Thace looked up and waved. “Who’s that?” Keith took a breath, “This is Shiro, my boyfriend.” He gestured to him, and Shiro, bless his heart, waved, “Good afternoon, sir.” He was raised like a little gentleman and there was no way he’d disrespect his boyfriends’ parents. “Boyfriend?” Ulaz raised an eyebrow before shrugging, “Well alright. Don’t stay out too late.” He murmured before moving so Thace could be more comfortable against him. 

“Well, I have another boyfriend. His name is Lance. They’re both my soulmates.” Keith rambled. “I hope he’s as respectful as this one.” Thace chuckled, nodding to Shiro, making him smile. “I’ll go grab my clothes. We’re going to the gym.” Keith nodded and headed upstairs. Ulaz started to interrogate Shiro, asking about his grades, home life, Lance. Keith smiled when he heard his boyfriend answer the questions respectfully and honestly. 

When he came back down, Shiro was telling an ROTC story, which riveted both of Keith’s parents, who had both been in the Air Force. Keith came into view in his basketball shorts and a t-shirt with his gloves swung over his shoulder, and Shiro beamed when he saw him, blushing softly. “Ready to go? It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Kogane and Mr. Kogane.” He nodded, removing his jacket to offer it to Keith. The parents raised an eyebrow at the metal arm but said nothing. “Let’s go.” Keith hummed, reaching for Shiro’s hand, waving to his dad’s, and pulling his boyfriend out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone was wondering, I made Shiro an AFJROTC kid because he totally would be one, also it's a good way to get into the air force, which I think he'll do in this.


	12. Eighteen Years Old (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's mom is tiny and loves her son and his boyfriends. Also, that gym date.

“Your dads are super cool!” Shiro’s eyes lit up as they drove away from Keith's house, “They were in the Air Force and that’s amazing. I kind of want to go into the Air Force, and possibly the space program.” Keith smiled, “Didn’t know you wanted to do that. Lance wants to become a professional surfer, but I think he should be an actor or dancer. His shows are amazing.” He sighed softly, so proud of their talented boyfriend.  
“I’ve seen him practice, it’s quite impressive.” Shiro agreed. “Shiro, do you have clothes?”  
“Well, I do, but I wanted to take you to like formally meet my mom. Don’t stress, she’s pretty cool.” Shiro grinned, kissing his cheek lightly. “Well she raised you, she must be the coolest mom.” Shiro shook his head, “No, Lance’s mom is cooler than mine, and a spectacular cook. My mom is super good, but she only makes Japanese food.” He explained, pulling into an apartment complex and climbing out. “Ready?”  
“Ready.”

When they walked in, Keith immediately felt at ease. The scent of vanilla swirled all through the house, and it was comfortably warm. He started to step forward, but Shiro grabbed his hips and pulled him back, “Ah ah, shoes off, Keith.” He told him, slipping off his sneakers and getting a pair of house shoes beside the wall. He handed him a blue pair, “Those are Lance’s, but we’ll get you some soon. Unless you’d rather just wear your socks.” Keith shrugged, setting them back down. “Socks are good.” He kissed his cheek before stepping further in and looking around. He already felt like he belonged there.

Shiro called out in something that Keith couldn’t understand, probably Japanese, before turning to him, “Just letting her know that you’re here. I’m gonna go change.” He kissed his cheek before heading down a hallway. Keith watched as he bent and hugged the tiny Japanese lady before kissing her cheek and continuing to his room. The lady came over and smiled, “You must be Keith.” She said in her quiet voice, taking a seat in a plush recliner. “Your hair is very long.” She commented, “But it suits you. Will you be good to Lance and Shiro?” Keith nodded, “Yes ma’am. I’ll do everything I can to keep them happy and safe.”   
“That’s good to hear. Would you like some water? The kitchen is that way.” She pointed to a doorway with long strands of black and white beads covering it before picking up the tv remote and turning on a cooking show. 

Shiro came back, smiling when he heard his mom explaining to Keith how to make proper rice balls, and Keith listened attentively because he really enjoyed when Ms. Shirogane spoke to him in her soft voice. “Oh, Shiro. I like him. I like Lance too, but Keith can shut his mouth, so that’s redeeming for the hair.” She told her son, leaning up for a hug, which he immediately gave her. Keith laughed softly as he thought about Lance’s tendency to talk a lot. “We’re gonna head out, Mom, do you need anything from the store?”  
“We need more sugar and some milk.” She said before waving them off. “Have a nice date.” She smiled before reclining in her chair more. “Let’s go, Keith.” Shiro offered a hand to help him up, removing his house shoes and slipping his shoes back on with they reached the door. “So did you like her?”   
“She’s so sweet, I love her.” He grinned, kissing his cheek lightly. “She likes you too.” He told him before leading him back to his car.

When they got to the gym, Keith signed in and told them Shiro was his guest. He showed him around, showing various thing he thought he’d be interested in before telling him where the punching bags were and that he’d be there. Shiro smiled, if not a bit shyly. “Could I just watch you?” He asked curiously. “I know that I’d probably hurt someone with this, but I kind of still want to learn.” He murmured, holding out his metal hand. Keith blushed, “Then I’ll teach you. I’ll go get some rental gloves.” He smiled, heading off. 

Shiro watched him go, smiling goofily to himself. When Keith returned, he handed Shiro a pair of black boxing gloves. “Be very careful with your arm, okay? I don’t want it broken.” Shiro nodded and put them on carefully, testing the weight and the feeling. “Okay, so always make a fist and when you punch, make sure to follow through with your whole body when you turn.” Keith instructed and mimed it, which Shiro followed. They went on like that for about an hour before stopping to get a drink, the two leaning against each other and laughing despite the sweat.


	13. Eighteen Years Old (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's homecoming time! Shiro is stressed af though.

The afternoon before homecoming, Shiro was drowning in worry. He was haunted by memories of his first dance, and he’ll be damned if he lets it happen again with Keith. He texted the group, checking and rechecking their ride, and the dinner reservations. Lance and Keith texted him in their separate group chat. Lance asked if he was okay while Keith told him that he sounded stressed. He tried to quell his boyfriends, but they were already on their way over to Shiro’s apartment. 

When they arrived, Shiro was making sandwiches while simultaneously eating scoops of peanut butter. They removed their shoes, greeted Ms. Shirogane and headed to the kitchen where Shiro had his head down on the small table with a plate of various sandwiches in front of him for his boyfriends. “Shiro, what’s wrong?” Keith asked, taking a seat and leaning over to rub his back while Lance put the peanut butter and sandwich supplies away before sitting. “Are you stressed? Worried?”   
“Worried, I don’t want this to be like our first dance.” He murmured. “I keep hearing you guys talk about this, what happened?” Keith asked, cocking his head as he rubbed Shiro’s shoulder absentmindedly. Lance sighed and started to tell the story.

“That’s despicable!” Keith gasped, crossing his arms over his chest. “At least it worked out in the end.” He nodded firmly, now angrily tapping his nails on the table. Lance rolled his eyes slightly, “Stop that, Keith. But I see why you’re worried, Takashi. But trust me, there’s no way that either of us would let that happen. You and Keith are gonna have the best dance possible.” Lance promised, nodding firmly. Keith agreed, “I’ll help in any way I can to take some of this stress off of you.” He smiled brightly. The two of them beamed at their taller boyfriend, who smiled softly. “You guys are the best, you know?” He kissed each of their cheeks. “Oh we know.” The two smiled brightly at each other before kissing him back on the cheeks. 

“I have to go home and change, I’ll see you two at dinner.” Lance smiled as he stood up. “Keith brought his suit with him, so you two help each other get ready. You better look good, okay you two?” He gave them the ‘I’m watching you’ fingers before waving and pushing past the beads on his way out. Shiro and Keith laughed at their appearance obsessed boyfriend before turning to each other. “Wanna see my room?” He asked shyly and Keith couldn’t help but laugh.

He stopped laughing when they reached Shiro’s room. Despite the small size of everything else in the apartment, it appeared that Shiro’s room was the biggest room, and now he knew why. There was a high quality telescope next to the window, a large table filled with books and binders, a bookshelf filled to the brim with books and a large bed with a black hole illustration. “Wow…” Keith whispered, taking it in. “Told you I was a huge space nerd.” He laughed quietly.

“I definitely believe you now.” He smiled softly, gently picking up a book from his desk. “Astrophysics?” He questioned. “It… it interests me. I kinda want to go to college for it.” He hummed quietly. “I’m sure you could.”   
“Thanks, Keith.” Shiro smiled brightly, and Keith’s heart warmed immeasurably. “Where’s your suit?” He suddenly questioned, curious. Shiro blushed slightly and reached into his closet for a sleek black suit. Keith smiled, “Suits you.” He hummed. Shiro laughed slightly and smiled brightly, “Isn’t yours red?” Keith laughed and nodded, “Lance insisted. For not being my date, he sure dragged me around to get ready a lot.”  
“Will you put your hair up?” He asked curiously. He really liked when Keith put his hair up, but he wouldn’t say it out loud. “I suppose so, my hair's too long to look good in a suit.” He shrugged, taking a hair tie from his wrist and putting his hair in a ponytail. Shiro mentally fist pumped.

That evening, Shiro peeked out his window in the bathroom as he changed into his suit. Keith had tried to change in there, but Shiro physically removed him, insisting that he got the bigger space in his bedroom. Finally he finished, turning to the mirror to check himself out and fiddle with his hair. Eventually, he decided he was looking good and turned to leave, stepping into his bedroom. Keith was already waiting on him in his red suit. Shiro grinned, “Ready, hot stuff?”  
“I thought it was hothead.” He teased, standing and offering an arm. 

Once the limo got to Shiro’s apartment building, Lance and Hunk jumped out, ready to go see their friends/boyfriends. “You look so good!” Lance squealed, holding his blue dress so that he didn’t trip. Keith and Shiro ogled at his legs slightly before seeing Hunk smirk at them, “Thanks Lance, you look good too.” Keith smiled, hugging Lance and kissing his cheek lightly before the two pairs headed down the stairs. Pidge and Allura were already in the limo, the two of them being “platonic” dates. “Platonic my ass.” Lance scoffed as he climbed in the limo and watched Allura and Pidge jump apart from each other.

Eventually, they arrived at dinner, Olive Garden. Hunk got their table, not minding Lance holding onto his arm as he chatted with Allura about their dresses. They finally were seated and started looking at the menus. At least, most of them did, Keith and Pidge just made grabs for the breadsticks.”So far so good, right?” Lance whispered to Shiro, who leaned over and kissed his cheek softly, “Right.” He affirmed. Hunk laughed, “No no, you have your own date, Shiro.” He teased, wrapping his arm around Lance and jokingly kissing his forehead. Of course, Lance didn’t mind, considering Hunk to be his other best friend. Soon they finished dinner, and climbed back into the limo to head to the dance.

Lance let out a big laugh when they walked inside the school cafeteria where Homecoming was to be held. “Better than that middle school dance, right, Shiro?” He teased, nudging one of his boyfriends as he held onto Hunk’s arm. Shiro laughed, “Maybe a little.” He shrugged, gesturing to the blue balloons with yellow dots on them and the blue and yellow streamers. “A night under the stars?” Allura questioned, glancing upwards at the paper stars hanging from the ceiling. Pidge laughed, “Stars, sure, we’ll call them that.” They hummed, brushing out their waistcoat then fixing their dress. “Well, let’s have fun, guys!” Lance cheered, tugging Hunk to the dance floor. Shiro and Keith laughed slightly, “Are you a dancer?”  
“Not at all, Shiro.”   
“Well, let me teach you.” He hummed, gently leading him onto the floor.

Keith was having a better time than he had expected. There he was, stumbling through the dance while focusing on Shiro’s bright, patient smile as he wrapped his arms around his waist. He felt like he was in heaven. “Shiro, you and Lance are amazing, you know?” Keith blurted, causing Shiro to blush, “Well, you’re amazing too, Keith.” He smiled, squeezing him close for a second. “You complete us.” He whispered, stroking his back. Keith melted against him, smiling softly to himself. “Gag!” Pidge called teasingly from where they were dancing with Allura, attempting to dip the much taller girl. “Jeez.” Shiro rolled his eyes, kissing Keith’s forehead and tugging him to a punch bowl. 

Lance was having a good time with Hunk, but he missed his boyfriends. He wanted to dance with Keith and tease Shiro about doing the robot, but instead he was sitting in Hunk’s lap and talking about the two instead. Hunk didn’t mind, cuddling his friend and wishing he’d catered the event. Lance rambled on about Shiro and Keith and worried that they might have a bit too much fun without him, but Hunk assured him that Shiro and Keith would never do that to him. They’d never leave him.

Eventually, the dance wound down, the few who were left goofing around or dancing to the slow song the DJ left on repeat. Lance had let Hunk go when he saw a cute girl at the punch bowl he wanted to talk to. Lance found Shiro and Keith and grinned at the sight of the shorter leaning into the other, almost asleep. He sat beside Shiro, “Have a fun night?”  
“Could’ve been more fun with you.”  
“But you two deserved it.” He nodded, kissing his cheek and Keith’s hair. “It was a fun night.” Shiro nodded, kissing Lance quickly before following his example and kissing Keith’s hair. “I hope he wears it up more often.”  
“Same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if anyone's noticed that thing I keep repeating.


	14. Seventeen Years Old (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My poor baby Lance...
> 
> This isn't even the worst of it for him. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: attempted rape (maybe kind of succeeded), gay slur (i'm a lesbian so chill pls), and a tiny bit of sheith angst

Lance wasn't doing so hot. Given that he had a bloody nose, busted lip, and the right side of his vision was gradually getting dimmer, he probably wasn't looking that hot either. God, he wished these guys would leave him alone. They hurled insults and slurs at him, Lance flinching every time one hit his ears. Occasionally they'd swing at him, and Lance wasn't exactly a fighting type pokemon, so he got shoved around and shoved to the ground and kicked and punched, and he hated it all.

He curled up into a ball, trying to remember if he'd told Keith and Shiro some lie to keep them from trying to find him since he couldn't quite get to the phone while he was getting beaten up. “Listen to me when I speak to you, faggot!” One boy screamed and the others laughed as he jerked Lance's head off the dirt by his hair, making him wince and think of Neil. He took a deep breath, trying not to have a panic attack as the boys jeered and taunted him. “Why are you doing this?” He croaked out, “They’re my soulmates, I can’t fucking change that.” He spat onto the boy holding him’s shirt, glaring hard. Not like he’d ever want to.

“Like I believe that.” He snickered. “That never happens and you’re faking it because you’re a disgusting fucking fag who’s going to hell,” He sneered before looking over his shoulder at the other boys. “Maybe we can fix you, make you hate it and then you’ll be normal.” He nodded, shoving him back down to the ground. “What?! No! Please!” Lance’s eyes widened as he attempted to scramble away from the guy, kicking his feet out when he was met by a brick wall at his back. “Oh you won’t mind it, not if you’re telling the truth.” The boy snickered teasingly, “Pin him down.” He ordered his lackeys, who grabbed his arms and legs. Lance’s eyes watered, “Please, don’t do this. I’m begging you, please.” He whimpered, tears dripping down his cheeks.

The boy ignored him, reaching forward to undo his zipper and stick his hand into his boxers. Lance started to sob and scream, berating him in Spanish as he attempted to get out of the boys’ hold. He took deep breaths, trying not to vomit as the boy touched him and insulted him, sneering and smirking at him. He tilted his head forward, shame creeping into his brain. He started to worry what Keith and Shiro would think of him after this, starting to cry harder at the thought of his soulmates rejecting him because he’d been raped. Rationally, he knew that Shiro would never leave him. But right now, he was a little low on rational thoughts.

He opened his mouth to call him a disgusting piece of shit that a pig sat on in Spanish, but instead he was interrupted by the boy holding his right leg down getting kicked in the face by a pair of familiar worn white sneakers with red accents. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING TO OUR BOYFRIEND?!” Shiro roared, grabbing the boy with his hand down Lance’s pants by the throat with (thankfully) his human hand. The boy’s eyes widened and he started to stammer out excuses as Lance drew up into a ball and covered his head with his hands, starting to sob harder.

Keith was entirely furious, but unlike Shiro, he had the perfect outlet for his anger. He grabbed the boy with his hands on Lance’s right arm, drew his own right arm back and punched him hard in the jaw. He kicked the boy who had previously been grabbing Lance’s other hand, making him topple over as Keith stamped down hard on his wrist. He turned to the other two and glared, one jumping up and scrambling away, the remaining looked like he’d go down swinging. Keith shrugged slightly, before storming over and elbowing him in the gut, then kneeing him in the face when he doubled over. He gave a tiny sigh before turning to Lance, “What happened?” He whispered worriedly as he kneeled beside him.

Shiro was currently interrogating the other guy, holding him to the wall by his throat and demanding to know who he was and what the hell he thought he was doing. Once finding out what he wanted to know, Shiro tossed him aside and ran to Lance’s side stroking his back softly, whispering soft comforting words to him. “Can you stand?” He asked quietly, to which Lance slowly shook his head. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll lift you, babe.” He nodded, and gently scooped Lance into his arms. He gave Keith a worried glance as Lance buried his face in Shiro’s shirt, clutching onto him.

“God, that looks bad.” Keith mumbled, looking at Lance’s injuries as the two sat in the backseat of Shiro’s truck. “There’s a first aid kit under my seat, babe, use that.” Shiro instructed as he drove to his apartment, glad that his mom was out of town. “Here it is.” Keith found it and started cleaning up Lance’s face, cracking an ice pack and giving it to him to cover his face. “God, I can’t believe this.” Shiro mumbled, glancing at him in the mirror. “Well believe it.” Keith huffed quietly. “That guy said that he’d been beating up for almost a year. How did I not notice this?” Shiro whispered. “Well, you’re not the most observant.”   
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“You still haven’t noticed Shay.”  
“Who?”  
“Exactly.”

Shiro grumbled, “I don’t why you’re acting like I’m the only one at fault here. You’re his boyfriend too.” Keith glared at him from the backseat. “Well, you have only been with us for a few months. I bet that’s what made it worse for Lance.”   
“So you’re blaming me?!”  
“A little.” This deteriorated into a yelling match with Shiro pointing the finger at Keith for coming into their relationship and causing Lance to be bullied more and Keith blaming Shiro for not noticing sooner when he’s supposed to be his best friend.

“JUST SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!” Lance suddenly blurted, startling both Keith and Shiro. Lance previously hadn’t said anything but yes or no in response to Keith asking if something hurt. “You’re being ridiculous and childish. This isn’t your fault.” He whispered, wrapping his arms around himself and wincing. Shiro sighed, pulling into a vacant lot. “I’m sorry, Keith. I shouldn’t have blamed you meeting and joining us. I love you very much, and I’m glad that we found you.”  
“I’m sorry too, Shiro. You can’t notice everything and help everyone, with everything you have going on. I love you too.”  
“May I come into the backseat so you can talk to us, Lance?” Lance glanced up at this before gulping and nodding, scooting over to sit in the middle as Shiro got out of the driver’s seat and into the back. “Please talk to us, baby,” He urged, taking his hand gently, “We’ll never leave you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed, there's a thing that keeps being repeated and I want people to notice it so it'll break your hearts later ;)
> 
> If you want a hint, ask and you shall receive.


	15. Seventeen Years Old (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a hypocrite.

Keith felt like he was going to throw up after listening to Lance quietly recount the past 10 months of bullying he’d been receiving. He assured that this was the worst it had ever been, after being so close to… that. “Why didn’t you tell us, Lance?” Shiro asked gently, stroking his thumb over Lance’s knuckles. “I… I thought I could handle it…” He mumbled, glancing down. Shiro and Keith locked eyes, frowning. They could tell this was a lie, but they didn’t want to press him further after what he’d been through. “We need to tell the school, our parents, somebody.” Shiro muttered, to which Lance and Keith immediately shook their heads. “No, I don’t want this to be a bigger deal than it needs to be.”  
“Also, if those guys report me for beating them up, I could get suspended. I don’t exactly have the cleanest track record.” Keith mumbled. “Fine. But if they go after you again, I am telling someone.” 

Lance was quiet for the rest of the drive, leaning against Keith as Shiro drove them back to his apartment. “Lance, I love you, you know?” Keith whispered into his hair, holding him close. “I don’t blame you for what he tried to do, so please don’t blame yourself.” Lance sniffled slightly, “Okay.” He whispered, trying to push those thoughts out of his head as he held onto Keith tighter. Soon they arrived and Shiro got out and helped both of them out of the truck before picking up Lance, wanting to carry him and protect him and not let anything hurt him.

They headed up inside and Keith removed his shoes, getting his socks, while Lance kicked off his shoes and reached for his slippers. “I’ll get them for you, babe.” Shiro nodded, removing his own shoes and pushing them neatly and putting them by Lance and Keith’s. Instead, Keith handed them to Lance, who thanked them both hoarsely. “You don’t have to baby me.” He murmured. “But we want to take care of you. You mean so much and we love you so much and we just…” Keith took a deep breath, “We just really care about you and want you to be happy again.” 

Suddenly, Lance’s eyes filled with tears, “Ch-christ. You can’t be so sweet like that without warning.” He laughed slightly, wiping at his eyes. “I love you guys, I really do. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I was… I was ashamed. Ashamed that I’m not as strong or skilled as both of you.” Shiro gaped at him, and Keith almost looked mad. “Keith, you can kick anybody’s ass and not break a sweat. Shiro, you’re an amazing football player and super buff. And I’m just. Lance. I act like a girl, I do theater, dance, I pile things on because I just want to be the best and then I break down and pretend like I haven’t,” He took a breath, “I was ashamed. And I didn’t want to bother you with my issues when you guys have enough.” He sighed before laughing weakly. “That didn’t work out too well, did it?”

Keith sighed, “Lance, I,” He groaned, “I’m so bad with words! I just want you to be safe and happy and I’d do anything to make it happen but you have to communicate just as much as you tell us to communicate!” He ranted before stomping off to the kitchen. Shiro exhaled slowly, “Lance, he’s not wrong. You can’t be a hypocrite, always telling us to share our issues, and then never doing the same.” He mumbled, gently stroking his boyfriend’s hair. “You guys are cute when you’re worried.” Lance said after a few beats of silence. Shiro laughed quietly, “You’re always cute. Don’t forget it.”

Lance smiled slightly and nodded, slipping on his houseshoes and heading to the kitchen to find Keith angrily making a sandwich. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, wrapping his arms around him. “Why the hell are you sorry?” Keith huffed, turning around to squeeze him tightly. “I didn’t share what was going on with me.”  
“Yeah, and that was dumb, but you don’t need to apologize for it.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Am I from Texas?” He snickered. “I dunno, you might be an alien or something.” Lance shrugged and kissed him lightly, “Thanks for kicking those guys’ asses.” He murmured. “No problem, babe.” Keith smiled back, looping his arms around him tighter.

“If you guys are done, I’d like that sandwich.” Shiro teased, coming behind Lance and reaching around the two of them to grab the sandwich Keith had been making. “Hey!” Keith protested, “That was mine!” He huffed, trying to grab it as Shiro held it over his head, yawning as if bored. Lance laughed and took out his phone to record his boyfriends. He laughed quietly, watching Keith attempt to scale Shiro like a tree to get his sandwich back. Lance smiled brightly, feeling much better than he did an hour ago. “I’m never gonna leave you guys. You mean too much to me.” He spoke up, smiling at their deep blushes and shy smiles that transformed into outrage as Lance grabbed the sandwich and took a big bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance finally said the thing himself, y'know?
> 
> Also, this will probably be the last chapter for a while unless I finish my summer work in record time and have motivation to write before school starts. Hopefully by then I'll be able to provide some fluff for youse guys. In case anyone noticed, I'm pretty bad at fluff. I'm a bit of a sadist and my characters' happy moments always feel bad to me. Anyways, tell me what to improve on, leave me some nice comments to read when I'm stressed and remember, you're all gorgeous and lovely and I hella appreciate you.


	16. I need help.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yikes my dudes

Okay so here's the thing. You know how I said I would be working on my summer work starting the 17th? Yeah, I did one thing. I can't stomach Lord of the Flies yet, so I'm gonna further procrastinate reading it by doing my ap notes. Starting the 29th. H a h a.

but what i actually need help on is this.

Would you guys prefer a Senior Trip part that would generally be really sweet and fluffy? Or would you prefer for me to just move ahead to Kangst Major?

The senior trip will take me longer (seeing as fluff is harder for me), but it'd be pretty cute because I already have ideas for it.

Kangst Major will come sooner, and will probably fuck you up majorly, but it'd come a lot sooner and allow me to continue moving through the story while I procrastinate my summer work.

So please please please tell me your opinion in the comments. Like, I really need input on this because I want to write rn and I only want to write emotional angst, not physical angst like what I have in the works.

(pst what i have in the works is a mermaid shklance minific, only problem is that i can't figure out how it should end)

anyways, please help me out and have a nice day, love you guys.


	17. I'm so s o r r y

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an update

okay so hi, it's been a while.

school is good, chem is boring, and my french teacher is a m a z i n g this year i'm s o happy

okay so to thing you all care about, the story.

SOOOO i know that most of you wanted the shklance senior trip??? but??? I'm super bad at writing fluff and shit. so if i ever manage to write that, I shall (maybe i'll put it in later, if I can)

but despite that, that klangst??? it's coming soon don't worry

okay, love you guys


	18. Nineteen Years Old (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUCK AN ACTUAL UPDATE 
> 
> PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR HEARTS WRENCHED

Everything was falling apart, in Shiro’s opinion. After getting back from their senior trip to New York, Lance was constantly studying and overworking himself. He’d gotten a text from Josh, Lance’s 15 year old brother, at 4 in the morning. It was a picture of Lance curled up beside the fridge, sobbing into a bowl of cereal without milk. And Keith seemed to be estranged, not as willing to hang out with or really even talk to him, Lance, or the rest of their friends. He seemed to only be talking with Pidge at the moment, and they wouldn’t reveal anything about what he was planning.

At least they wouldn’t, until Keith seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. Shiro and Lance had gone to his house to see if he wanted to hang out over the weekend, but the entire house was empty. Neither of his dads’ cars were in the driveway, and the house was completely dark and didn’t seem to have been lived in for a few days at most. Lance looked at Shiro with worry in his eyes, “Where do you think they went?”  
“I have no idea, Lance. But I know who might.” 

And that’s how they ended up in front of Pidge’s house. On the porch, a dog was curled up on its side, snoring. “Ooh. They didn’t strike me as a dog person.” Lance murmured, climbing out of Shiro’s truck. “PIDGE!” He shouted, starting his march across the lawn. Shiro actually struggled to keep up with his powerful, rage-fueled strides, but eventually he grabbed his wrist, “Stop shouting, Lance!” He scolded, tugging him back. Lance sniffed and jerked his hand away before coming to the steps. He bent and pet the dog, who was now staring at them and panting. Shiro sighed, knocking on the door. It was opened by Pidge. Who seemed to have grown? A few feet? “Oh right, Matt.” Lance waved. “Where is your gremlin sibling?” Matt only shrugged and pushed up his glasses, “I think they heard you shouting and tore out to the forest.”  
“Pidge hates nature.”  
“Exactly. What kind of dirt do you have on them?” Matt smiled, if somewhat insidiously. They never really hung out much, but the way Pidge described Matt as, “Einstein possessed by Loki,” made them not want to tell him what was going on. “Okay, thanks. We have to go find them.” Lance nodded and paraded through the house, waving at Pidge and Matt’s mother, who only smiled and waved right back.

Pidge was currently on the brink of an anxiety attack. After hearing Lance scream their name, they ran out of their room and out the back door with a shouted bye to their mom as they ran to the forest. While they didn’t enjoy nature much anywhere else, the woods behind their house were as much of a home as their bedroom. They usually felt at peace and connected out there, but at the moment, they were curled up in their little rock shelter they’d built years ago with Lance and Hunk’s help, nearly crying. They felt terrible. They knew exactly why Shiro and Lance were looking for them, but Keith had made them promise not to tell his boyfriends. They sighed, knowing that Lance wouldn’t take no for an answer, and that they needed to come up with something fast or manage to get away. But they’d left their phone. Idiot. 

Lance stomped through the woods, birds and squirrels scattering out of his path while unlucky insects got crushed underfoot. “Pidge! We know you’re out here!” He called, trying to think of where they could easily get to and hide. “Do they have a tree fort or something?” Shiro asked softly. Lance turned quickly, “Of course not, Shiro, they’re afraid of heights, why the hell would they hide somewhere that would trigger a panic attack?” He snapped, jabbing a finger at Shiro. His boyfriend scowled and swatted his hand away, “I didn’t know that, Lance,” He huffed, irritated, “Let’s just find Pidge.”  
“Let’s.”  
“We shall.”  
“Then let’s go.”  
“I’ll lead the way.”  
“You don’t even know where they’d...go.” Lance’s eyes lit up and he nodded, “Oh of course! Follow me!” He decreed, like they hadn’t just been in each other’s faces, glaring ferociously.

Pidge flinched at the knock on their pile of rocks. They listened before sighing, “Yes, Lance?”  
“May I come in, Pidge?” They debated why he was being polite, before sighing and moving the old shower curtain out of the way. “This brings back memories.” Lance murmured, crawling inside and trying to crunch himself up to not knock any stones down and to fit comfortably in all his long-leggedness. “I know what you want, Lance.”  
“So where is our boyfriend?”  
“He…” They sighed, “He and his dads went camping. In Wyoming. He made me promise not to tell you.” Lance bit his lip, “I’m sorry for making you break a promise, but why would he not tell us?”  
“He wouldn’t say.” They shook their head. Now they were lying. They knew exactly why Keith had up and left without a word, but Lance and Shiro didn’t know that. “Well, Lance, let’s go pack. We have to find out why he left without telling us.”  
“Are you su-” He was silenced with a glare and pinched sigh from Shiro. “Let’s go.” Lance nodded and waved at Pidge before following Shiro out of the forest. Pidge sighed lightly and started fiddling with their glasses, “This will not be good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooner or later (better be fucking sooner) caleb and i will be uploading the Superhero Files, which will tell you all you need to know about the Superhero AU Characters, and their backstories. So be on the lookout for that and all the angst and fluff and lore we have planned.
> 
> Do you have any idea how hard it is to build an entirely new species from scratch??


	19. uPDATE

so hello again

so I'm writing part two of the last chapter in between crying over ap world and wishing for a car to hit me, but I also had time to write THE SUPERHERO AU!!!!! and a mermaid shklance fic (please look at it)


	20. Seventeen Years Old (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD IM SO SORRY IM SUCH A DICK
> 
> ILL TRY MY BEST TO WRITE A LOT BUT I JUST GOT THE NEW ANIMAL CROSSING APP AND I CAN FEEL MY MOTIVATION TO DO OTHER TASKS THAN TALK TO GOLDIE RUNNING LOW. I WAS A FOOL. ONLY ISABELLE NOW
> 
> anyways, hopefully I'll update more often :)))))
> 
> this is short and im sorry but im trying

Keith was having a good time despite the slight mental breakdown ever present in the back of his head. He was currently sitting next to a river, watching the fish swim by and wishing he’d brought a camera or something to draw with. But he sat peacefully, contemplating everything. He decided to start with the basics. 

“My name is Keith Kogane,” He whispered to the river, who only bubbled back to him. “I’m 17 years old, and I met my soulmates last year. Lance is 18, beautiful, and talented. Shiro is 19, hot as hell, and so smart.” He informed the fish, who kept swimming. “Shiro wants to go into the Air Force. Lance wants to be a marine biologist. And me? I have no idea,” He mumbled towards the rock he was sitting on, his head hung low. “They both know what they want to do. And I’m just here. I’m gonna get left behind. They don’t even need me.” He groaned, reaching up to tug harshly at his hair. They had been fine without him, what’s to say they wouldn’t miss him when they moved on with their lives together? “I’m scared. I just… left them. Maybe that’ll make them hate me and make this easier on all of us when they eventually get going in life.” He sighed, before pushing himself up off the rock and hiking back towards the cabin his dads had rented. Then he saw a familiar black truck.

A few hours ago, Lance and Shiro were driving up I-15, sitting in a tense silence. Lance had earbuds in, but his music wasn’t very loud because Shiro had glared at him when he could hear it from the driver’s seat. “Shiro, can we stop and get something to eat?” Shiro sighed, “Do you not remember me telling you to bring food?”  
“Well obviously, I didn’t. Let’s stop.” Lance huffed, crossing his arms. Shiro rolled his eyes, “You need to start listening to me when I tell you stuff.”  
“You’re not in the Air Force yet, so stop acting like you are! You are the corps commander of a shitty Junior ROTC unit that’s dying!” Lance slapped the dashboard with an air of finality. The veins in Shiro’s neck tensed as he slowly drifted over to the side. Lance stared at him, thinking that maybe he’d gone too far. Shiro parked and turned to him, “ What is your fucking problem?” Shiro hissed. Lance flinched back, as if trying to get away from his livid boyfriend. Shiro rarely swore, due to his gentlemanly nature and behaviorally strict mother. Lance felt hot pinpricks behind his eyes, a hand raising to wipe at them as the faucets turned on. Warm tears started dripping down his cheeks as he stared at Shiro, “What’s wrong with us?”

Keith stormed up to the truck, groaning loudly as he saw the blue sweater in the empty passenger seat. He marched up to the porch of the cabin his dads had rented and saw Lance laying face down on the wooden floor of the porch. Shiro was picking at his nails as he tried to look anywhere but Keith and Lance. “What the hell are you two doing here?” He demanded, fuming. All of the fire in him dissipated when he saw Lance’s running nose and wet cheeks. “We needed to see you.” Lance answered, sounding stuffy and sad.

 

Thace and Ulaz came back from their hike and lunch in the woods to one crying teenager, one sleeping teenager, and one screaming teenager. The screaming one happened to be their son, so they did what any dads would do. Ulaz walked up and pressure pointed Keith, who crumpled back against his dad. Thace went over to Lance, “Hello, Lance. Care to tell me what’s going on with you three? I didn’t know Keith had invited you two.” He said calmly, helping the sobbing teen stand. “Let’s get some tea and blankets.” He gave Ulaz a discreet nod. Ulaz nodded back and threw Keith over his shoulder, taking him to his room and tucking him in. He came back with a bunch of blankets as Thace rubbed small circles on a crying Lance’s back. 

Ulaz draped the blanket over him and sat down, “Okay, Lance. Could you tell us what’s going on between you two?” He asked gently, joining his husband in comforting the teenager. Lance took a snotty, sniffly breath before beginning to explain why he and Shiro were here. He told about the arguments they had and how it felt like they were all falling apart. And then Keith got so angry at them for trying to find him that Lance teared up as he told his boyfriend’s dads what had gone on.

Thace sighed, “This isn’t good. You three need to have a calm discussion about why Keith left without telling, why you and Shiro started fighting, and why you three need to stay together. Just… talk. Communication is so important.” He told Lance, setting a warm mug tea in front of him. Lance thanked him and sipped it, “We know. Sometimes we get caught up in ourselves and our problems. I’m worried about them.” He sighed before standing, “I’m gonna go wake Shiro and Keith and we can go have a nice chat.” He nodded. Ulaz smiled, “That’s perfect. We’ll get started on dinner, if you two will stay.” Lance smiled, “I hope we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw ap world was kicking my ass for a solid five days but i fucking managed


	21. L o o k a t m e

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> self spon and explanations

OKAY! So first of all, an explanation of the plot so far.

Shiro and Lance met when they were very young, on the verge of dating until about ninth grade, when they started dating seriously. They met Allura that year and became good friends with her. Then in sophomore year, Shiro got kidnapped and tortured and maimed by Haggar. Then they meet Keith and a little bit happens between Shiro and Keith and Keith and Lance. And now we arrive at senior year. Keith basically vanishes without a trace during spring break with no explanation to his boyfriends. Already stressed out, Shiro and Lance get into a few fights because of high tensions before finding Keith. And Keith didn't want to see them because they just reminded him of why he was upset in the first place. And then the next chapter will carry on here! Whenever I get a chance to write.

 

Second of all, please check out my other stories!

I have a Superhero AU that my friend Caleb and I have put a ton of effort into. It's pretty intricate if I say so myself, and so far we've written a few "bios" for the characters in this au.

I have a stand alone one shot in which Lance gets blinded and gets "abandoned" by the paladins.

On the subject of Abandonment, I wrote a continuation of mcclangst on tumblr's oneshot in which Lance gets abandoned by his friends.

I have a mermaid au where Keith and Lance are helpful mermaids and Shiro is a lost, castaway sailor. But the pair of mermaids aren't as helpful as they seem.

And soon, I'll be trying something new with a Shklance chat fic in a normal high school au in which Shiro is a jock and Keith and Lance are a pair of cheerleaders.

So please check out my other stuff, it'd mean a lot to me because I work hard on that other stuff too. (and i get inspiration for the little projects I have way more often)

\--  
love love! thank you for your continued support, especially to people like UndertaleUniverse, Saky, and Lie17. I love seeing you guys' comments and you're just absolutely lovely.


	22. Bonus!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short happy fluffy segment of the Senior Trip.

Shiro was woken up by a phone ringing. Normally, he’d groan and roll over, but a clip of Eliza Schuyler singing that someone’s got her feeling so helpless him told him that one of his two boyfriends was calling him. Given the fact that it was a Saturday and before noon, he deduced that it was probably Lance clamoring for his attention. He pushed himself up with a grunt, picking up the phone. He yawned, “Lance?” He mumbled. He could hear Lance’s smile through the phone. “Guess where the senior winter trip is going!” His hyperactive boyfriend squealed. “I dunno, babe, why don’t you tell me?”  
“You gotta guess!”  
“Lance, if you make me guess, I’ll hang up on you.” Shiro scoffed, sitting up and running a metal hand through his hair. “Fine, fine, Grumpypants. We’re going to New York!” He giggled excitedly. Shiro laughed, “Really? I thought that was too expensive.”  
“No, since a lot of the theater and dance seniors are going, they decided to give half of their fundraising proceeds each to the trip, so now it’ll cost way less for us!”  
“That’s awesome! Have you told Keith?” Lance gasped, “No I haven’t! Okay, bye babe, I gotta call Keith.” Lance hung up and Shiro was left alone with his thoughts, excited for their trip. 

Two weeks later, they were at the airport. Shiro stood at the center of a large cluster of his friends, back to back with Hunk as their friends hugged the two of them for warmth. Hunk’s girlfriend, Shay, wasn’t able to go on the trip, so she was there to say her goodbyes, kissing Hunk’s cheeks and holding his hands in hers. Meanwhile, Shiro was dealing with his own significant others as Keith and Lance surrounded him and glared at any of the other girls, besides Pidge and Allura who strictly wanted warmth. “You two are so possessive.” Allura giggled. “Well, we don’t want anyone stealing him away from us.” Lance grinned, leaning up to kiss his cheek, which Keith joined in, kissing Shiro’s other cheek. “Our Shiro.” He huffed as he hooked onto Shiro’s arm. “Don’t worry, darlings! I wouldn’t leave you.”

Shiro was enjoying the plane ride. Lance was hanging onto his right arm, snoring quietly on his shoulder, and Keith was reading a book as he nestled into Shiro’s side. He felt peaceful. He could imagine this for the rest of his life. He wanted this so bad. He wanted both of his soulmates by his side for the rest of his life. He loved them both so, so much. “I love you two.” He whispered. Keith glanced up, “Hm?” He murmured, a little smile crossing his lips. “I love you.” He ducked his head to kiss him quickly. Keith blushed darkly, “Love you too.” He murmured, looking back at his book. Shiro smiled and rested his head on Lance’s head to try and sleep.

Lance squealed loudly when they got out the plane, pointing at the tall skyscrapers. “Shiro, Keith, look! It’s so big!” Keith snickered as Pidge passed by, “Isn’t that what you two said?” They smirked at Shiro as they gripped Allura’s hand. Lance and Shiro blushed before Lance smirked, “It was.” He cooed to a tomato-red Shiro. “You’re the worst.” Shiro rolled his eyes with a soft smile. 

They got to wander through Times Square together, falling deeper and deeper in love as they marvelled at the lights together. Shiro bought them some pizza, smiling softly as he watched Lance marvel at the cheesiness of his pizza. Keith laughed and leaned to take a bite of Lance’s pizza, making his boyfriend shriek and scold him. Shiro burst out laughing, watching the two of them fool around. He was so in love and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.


	23. Nineteen (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand conclusion to this Klangst Major

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO UPDATES???? 
> 
> i've been feeling so inspired lately

Shiro woke up to Lance leaning over him with a soft frown, “Good morning, Shiro.” He murmured. Shiro frowned, trying to remember what had happened. Then he remembered, the screaming, crying, and blows against components of his car. “Morning.” He sighed, moving to stand up. “Are you okay? What happened?” He could see the telltale shake in Lance’s hands that meant he’d cried recently. “I had a bit of a breakdown, but Keith’s dads helped me through it.”  
“Woah! Why didn’t you wake me?” He frowned worriedly, reaching out to comfort his boyfriend, but retreating when Lance tensed. “Lance?”  
“I… didn’t think you’d want to be woken up.” He whispered, rubbing at his elbows, another telltale sign that Lance was extremely nervous. “Lance, I know we fought. And I’m so… so sorry. I shouldn’t have taken out my stress and frustrations on you. I’ve been so stressed out with the corps and senior year and projects and-” He had to pause to take a breath to fight the oncoming anxiety at the thought of his upcoming launch into the adult world. 

Lance reached out and gently put a hand on his shoulder, “Easy there, big guy. I have enough anxiety for the both of us.” He tried to joke, but he was silenced by Shiro pulling him into a near crushing hug. He let his arms relax and he draped himself into his best friend’s arms. “We’ve never fought like that.”  
“We’ve never been high school seniors dealing with our relationship and school at the same time.” Shiro answered, a hand moving to rub a small infinity symbol at the base of Lance’s spine. Lance took a shaky breath and nodded, “You’re right. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have said that stuff about ROTC because I know you’re trying really hard.” He kissed his cheek gently. Shiro sighed, “No, I get it. Sometimes we look like a joke.”  
“But at least you look sexy in your uniform.” Lance teased, drawing a laugh out of Shiro. And there they stood, supportive and comforting and blissfully unaware.

Unaware of the fact that Keith was watching through a window, staring at his boyfriends as tears trickled down his cheeks. He could feel himself splintering apart. They had gotten themselves resolved in minutes, and were now gently swaying together. Meanwhile, Keith had just run, running from his problems and the things that scared him. Right now, he was terrified. He felt so lost! He let out a yell of frustration and watched as Shiro and Lance turned towards him like they were trying not to frighten an animal. Keith backed away from the window, scared of what would happen. He felt dizzy, stumbling to try and put some distance between him and Lance and Shiro, but he only ran into a familiar mass of flesh with a cool metal arm that wrapped around his shoulders. Lance appeared in front of him, “Keith, Mullet? Babe? What’s wrong?” He reached out, but Keith swatted at his hand, trying to steel up all his anger and frustration but somehow he ended up sitting on the ground with hot tears stinging his face.

Lance stared at Shiro for a beat before slowly kneeling in front of Keith, “Keith... can you tell us why you’re crying? Keith raised a hand that drifted from Lance to Shiro then came back to resting in his lap. Shiro looked at Lance, who looked incredibly confused, and sat down too, “Could you tell us why... we’re making you cry?”  
‘“We don’t want to make you cry, amor.” Keith bit his lip before speaking, shakily whispering, “Perfect.” Lance frowned, “I don’t… I don’t understand, Keith.”  
“You. Are. Perfect!” He snarled, tugging at his hair hard enough to wince. Lance dove to take his hand, “Baby, we- we’re not perfect. Trust me. We fought because we got... stressed out and-and frustrated with each other.” He mumbled, squeezing his hand tightly. Shiro wrapped his arms around both of them, “We’re not perfect, Keith. Why do you think we’re perfect?”  
“You two know what you want. And you know what you’re gonna do after school. And here I am, scrambling and lost.” He whispered, tears dripping off his nose. Lance bit his lip, “Keith, did you…” He paused, trying to find the rest of his question, “Like...run away from us because you’re scared of the future?”  
“Terrified. You guys are gonna go to college and get jobs and leave me behind.” He sniffled, sounding so empty, hollow, and scared.

“Keith, baby, we’re not gonna leave you behind. We love you so much.” Shiro murmured, a hand coming up to stroke his cheek. “Please, believe us.” He nearly begged, pulling him close. Keith broke down into another fit of choked sobs, “You don’t get it! You guys are perfect together! You’re perfect without me! You’ve been perfect without me.” He lamented. Lance bit his lip, “You think that because we met before we met you… that we wouldn’t… miss you if we went out into the world?” He questioned. Keith gave a weak nod, slumping into Shiro’s chest. Lance sighed, pinching his nose. “Keith, I don’t… I don’t know how to say it any different. My, fucking, slushie metaphor didn’t work, I guess.” He ran a hand through his hair, a deep sigh escaping his lips. Keith winced, “I, shit, I’m sorry…” He croaked. His boyfriends immediately came to surround him, hugging and shushing him. “No, we’re sorry.” Shiro pulled them both close, nervously rubbing his metal fingers together. “There’s a reason… that we’re soulmates, Keith. Without you, part of our world is unpainted and blank. We can’t see all the beauties and wonders of the world without you. We need you. We love you.” Lance whispered, his monologue tumbling out of him like a river. 

The two boyfriends panicked when Keith started crying even harder, clutching onto their shirt sleeves. “Fuck! You guys care so much! I ran away from you because I was scared, and you cared enough to chase me down.” He sobbed, angrily scrubbing at his face. “I’m so so sorry.” He sighed, exhaustion weighing down on him. “It’s okay, baby. We’re all calm now.” Shiro nodded, gently scooping up his two boyfriends to carry them inside the little cabin. He set Keith on the couch and set Lance on the floor, knowing that he’d probably appreciate the cool floor. He draped the blanket over Keith and he promptly fell asleep. Shiro gave a big sigh, “I’m tired.” He mumbled, laying by him and draping his arms around Keith. “You’re ours, okay? We won’t leave you.” Lance gave a slow nod from the floor, “I love you too much to leave you two.”


	24. Snapshots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of snapshots of their lives together from the last chapter to the next.

Shiro and Keith were hanging out at Shiro’s apartment, relaxing and just being chill together. They were slightly anxious, given that graduation was the next day. After Keith’s breakdown, they had kept going, stronger than before. All of their friends had been applying for colleges and scholarships, and everyone was a bit stressed. So now, Shiro and Keith were taking a chill day, trying to calm themselves down before graduation. Shiro turned to Keith, “You’re beautiful, y’know?” He cooed softly. Keith laughed, blushing slightly. “You’re so sweet.” He cooed back. “I think-” Shiro leaned forward to kiss him, but he was halted by the front door being pounded on. It flew open and Keith startled so bad that he fell off of the couch, landing in a heap on the floor. Lance danced in, kicking off his shoes and clutching a sheet of paper. “I FUCKING DID IT!” He squealed loudly, jumping onto Shiro and hugging him tightly. 

“Woah, woah, babe!” Shiro yelped, his arms going around Lance. Keith sat up, “Ouch.” He ran a hand through his hair before climbing onto the couch beside his boyfriends. “So what did you do?” Shiro asked, leaning to peek at the paper. “I got in! I, Lance FUCKING McClain got into the college of my dreams for the major of my dreams!” Lance squealed, thrusting the paper at them before collapsing back onto the rest of the couch. Keith and Shiro pressed together to read an acceptance letter from UCLA. “Woah, really?” Keith gasped. “That’s amazing.” Shiro hummed, proud of his boyfriend. “You know-” Keith began, while Shiro murmured, “Actually-”. Lance stared at them as they said in unison, “UCLA was my second choice.”

Three beats of silence passed between them as they each stared at each other. “WHAT?!” Lance shouted, scrambling to stand up. “Did I not tell you guys I applied for UCLA? They have a good arts program.” Keith rambled. “They have an ROTC unit, and there’s a base about thirty minutes away!” Shiro offered. “Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Lance rolled his eyes. “We could’ve been planning for us to live together or something if you didn’t get into your first choices.” Keith shrugged slightly, “I did not get into SCAD. It was too expensive anyways, without the scholarship I wanted.” Shiro bit his lip, “I didn’t really want to go to Texas. Sorry, Keith.” He bit his lip. “Does this mean… we’re all going to the same university?” Lance ventured out, staring at his boyfriends. “I...uh… think we are.” Shiro laughed, reaching out to hug them tightly.

\---

“There, that’s the last box.” Keith huffed, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked up at the wall of boxes in the U-Haul attached to Shiro’s truck. “That’s it?” Shiro asked, coming up to take his hand. “Yeah, Sharpshooter over there had to bring allllll of his clothes.” He drawled as Lance stood up and came over from where he was trying to coax his cat out from under his father’s car. “Hey, you leave me alone. You only wear like five different shirts.” He wrinkled his nose at Keith before giggling when Keith kissed his nose. “Don’t fight, you two. I don’t wanna have to sit with you guys in the car for an hour while you argue.” He cooed, hugging both of them close. They looked to the house where Lance’s parents, Shiro’s mom, and Keith’s dads were coming out to see them off. “Are you boys all packed up?” Ms. McClain asked, reaching up to wipe up her eye. Ms. Shirogane was nearly incapacitated as she went to get another hug from her only son. “Mom, I promise we’ll be okay. Remember we’re only like thirty minutes away.” Shiro tried to assure her, but she sniffled, “You be good for Mama, okay?”  
“Of course, Mama.” Shiro smiled a tiny bit.

An hour or three later, Keith flopped onto the soft, cheap couch in their new apartment, sweating profusely. “Remind me again why Lance didn’t get any boxes?” He asked Shiro, one arm landed on his boyfriend’s chest on the floor. “He said he had a surprise for us in our new bedroom, and that he only needed a few things to set it up.”   
“This better be good, assembling that bookshelf was a feat.” Keith huffed, closing his eyes. As he did, Lance waltzed in, “Hey boys! Ready to see our bedroom?” He asked, tucking his phone into his back pocket. “I guess so. I’m gonna take a nap.” Keith said, shoving himself up from the couch and plodding towards the small set of stairs that led to their bedroom. “Okay, I put a lot of effort into this, and Allura and Pidge helped me out, so be nice. But tell me if you don’t like it!” He said with an excited air. Then he opened the door. 

Inside, the walls had already been painted. Swirls of blue melted in stark lines of red which blended into splotches of purple on the white background. The dressers were painted black, with the drawers painted either blue, red, or purple. And the bed. It was obviously homemade and a labor of love. Allura had probably helped Lance sew together the covers, decorated with red, blue, and purple patches. And on the large bed, there were red, blue, and purple pillows, each behind a decorative pillow. Keith’s had a volcano print on it, Lance’s had a shark, and Shiro’s had a black hole. “Oh my god! Lance!” Keith gasped, looking pretty amazed. Shiro grinned brightly, “It’s so… us.” He said. “Isn’t it? I worked super hard on it!” He giggled happily. “Pidge helped me by deciding which colors to use and Allura helped me out with all the decorations.” He nodded. “It’s perfect.” Keith smiled, drawing Lance into a big hug.

\---

“Hey, you look too cute to be here all alone.” A man crooned into Lance’s ear as he sat at a table. Lance whipped around, giving him an incredulous look. “Yes, I know I’m cute.” He responded dismissively. The man wrinkled his nose slightly, “Take a compliment gracefully, baby. Want a drink?” Lance cringed, “No, I’m waiting on my boyfriend to come back with drinks.”  
“I don’t see a boyfriend. Come on, entertain me for a bit, doll.” He cooled, a hand coming down to grab Lance’s wrist. “I said no! Fuck off!” Lance tried to jerk his arm back, but the man’s grip held tight. “My name is Lotor Prince and I always get what I want.” He sneered, leaning down close to Lance’s face. Lance scowled, “Leave me alone! My boyfriends are gonna kick your ass!” He snarled back. “Oh no, two imaginary boyfriends, whatever shall I do.” Lotor mocked him.

“Keith, I don’t think we’re imaginary. Do you?” A voice piped up from behind them. “I can’t say I think we are.” Keith answered, a small tray of drinks in his hands. “Maybe we should inform this scumbag that we aren’t imaginary.” Keith sidled up to Lotor’s side as he placed down the drink. He turned to face Lotor before reeling back and punching him across the face. Lotor stumbled back but kept his grip on Lance’s wrist. Lance tried again to jerk his arm away, but Lotor effectively stopped that by twisting his hand. A loud gasp left Lance as his wrist twisted in a way on the edge of painful. That made Shiro jump into action, grabbing Lotor by the back of his neck with his metal hand. “I think you should leave our boyfriend alone.” He growled. 

Lotor gasped and let him go, “Woah woah woah, I think we’re done here. I’ll leave him alone, promise.” He squeaked, his hands coming up in a placating motion. “Told you to leave me alone. Now scram.” Lance smirked. Shiro dropped him and Lotor scrambled away from their table. He threw a glance back at Lance and gave him a creepy once over, to which Lance responded by flipping him off and tugging Shiro into a kiss. Keith peeked around from his boyfriend’s and scowled at Lotor darkly.

“God, what a creep.” Lance shuddered after pulling away and grabbing his drink from the table. “I’m tired of guys trying to get with me. I’m very taken! My soulmates are two hot guys who love me very much!” He rambled, louder than he probably needed to. "Okay, darling, we get it. " Shiro laughed slightly as he bent and kissed Lance's cheek. "I love you guys, so so much. " He crooned, leaning up to peck each of their lips. "We love you too, Lance. " Keith grinned slightly, sitting beside his boyfriend. Shiro took the seat across from him, "That creep wasn't even cute." He scoffed. "Exactly! " Lance exclaimed, slamming his drink and looking at the loves of his life. He wouldn't trade them for anything. Not for the world, not for himself. But he'd never have to. 

He's never gonna leave them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the happiest they're gonna be for a while
> 
> this is langst major major territory


	25. Twenty-Four Years Old (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is nice!

 

“Keith, do you know your ring size?” Lance asked suddenly, glancing up from his plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Keith coughed a bit, surprised by the sudden break in the silence. “Um, I’m not entirely sure, why do you ask?”

“I was thinking of buying rings for you two for us to get married. I mean, I feel like we’re basically married already and there’s a bunch of legal work, but if you guys wanted it, which I know you do, I’d be willing to go through it for you.” Lance rambled, waving his fork in a circle as if envisioning the rings. Shiro spluttered from the kitchenette, “Babe, how do you know we want that?” Lance laughed slightly, “I was upstairs studying, ‘nd I heard you guys talking about weddings and how you’d like to have one. I mean, I personally would love to wear a wedding dress because I have the legs for it, but a nice ceremony would be fun.” He told them. Shiro had to take a deep breath.

 

He’d know Lance nearly all of his life. He’d known Lance longer than he’d known his father ever existed. And here he was, the child who acted like a mother, the blossoming preteen, the stressed out teenager, the loving boyfriend, proposing having a wedding for the three of them. “Babe, you don’t have to do all that. Plus where would we even get the money for that?” Lance smiled slyly, “Actually, I sold some of my research on the behaviors of creatures in the tide pools on the coast to some really big oceanography magazine. So that’s a bit of money in my pocket.” He hummed happily.

 

“Oh my god, Lance. That’s… that’s a lot.” Keith said, a bit shellshocked. “Well you guys deserve it all.” He smirked back, standing up and walking over to kiss Keith’s cheek before going to the kitchenette to start on the dishes. Shiro looked to Keith, wondering what he thought of this, but all he saw was the gushiest look he’d ever seen on Keith’s look. “Wow, you really want this, don’t you?” 

“Of course I do… I’ve… always craved a-a feeling of belonging and while I know I belong with you. I love being with you two and this would just help me… feel more grounded and safe.” He explained slowly, struggling a bit to pluck the words from his brain. “Okay, darling, I get it.” Shiro swooped in to press kisses to Keith’s hair and face, making him laugh a bit.

 

“Okay, so I need both of your ring sizes and preferred ring styles. Keith, I totally love you and your  _ hella _ athletic and masculine aesthetic but I think a “girly” ring would look really really pretty on you.” Lance grinned, taking out his phone to take some notes. “I think it should match our room.” Shiro offered, sitting beside Keith. “Good idea! So maybe red and blue gems on the outside and a purple gem in the center?” Lance asked, smiling happily as his boyfriends. “I’d like a girly ring if you got one too, Lance.” 

“Bet.” Lance smirked, holding out his hand like he was already admiring his ring. 

 

The three of them burst out laughing before Lance’s phone rang. “Oh, it’s the gremlin.” He said, checking his phone. “What does Pidge want?” Keith asked curiously, clearing his dishes. “They want me to come help them study for a computer science test. I’ll go help them, then go pick up the rings.”

“Wait, pick up?” Shiro wondered. “I, um, may have already bought and ordered them? I just wanted to get you guys’ opinions. They’ve been ready for a while, I just had to figure out how to talk to you guys about it.” Lance laughed sheepishly as Shiro gasped and Keith groaned. “Lance!”

 

“I gotta head out, I love you guys.” Lance said, slipping his sneakers on and kissing each of them on the lips. “We'll see you tonight, okay babe?” Shiro smiled, wrapping his arms around both of his boyfriends. “If you're tired, you should sleep over at Pidge and Allura's.” Keith suggested. “I wouldn't want to keep my wonderful darlings from seeing me and our rings.” Lance cooed, pecking their lips again before picking up his keys and disappearing out the door. Shiro and Keith turned to smile at each other, “Lance is the best, isn't he?” Shiro sighed sweetly. “Absolutely.” Keith agreed. They were happy and excited for their lives together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too nice.


	26. Twenty-Four (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything has immediately gone downhill.

“You wanna get married to your boyfriends?” Pidge asked with a surprising amount of excitement as Lance blushed darkly, nodding a bit. “I, uh, yeah. I've already bought rings and everything. I just need to plan a way to propose.”

“Well you know that Allura would be way better with this.” He nodded, “Yeah, I just wanted to tell someone because I'm just so nervous.” Pidge snorted, “Dork, there's no reason to be nervous. They love you so much.” Lance smiled a bit, “Thanks Pidge. I should go ahead and head out.” They smiled and leaned over to hug him, “Bye. Thanks for the help.” Lance grinned and waved before heading to the door.

Lance got into his car, glancing down at the inconspicuous looking boxes sitting on the console. “God, I want this so much.” He muttered under his breath, reaching and flipping open Shiro’s box. A masculine silver ring with a purple gem set inside with a blue and red gem on either side twinkled back at him. “Me and Shiro were on the same page, huh?” He chuckled to himself, closing the box and picking up Keith's. It was a bit more feminine, matching the one on his own finger. A delicate circle of silver adorned with red, blue, and purple jewels that would look beautiful on his shorter boyfriend's finger.

“Can't wait.” He pressed a tiny kiss to the ring, hoping to do the same to its recipient later. He turned on his car and drove into the nice, half singing along to the radio as he headed home. He glanced at his phone as it buzzed, “Hm, wonder what that was.” He murmured. “Oh well, I'm not getting arrested. I'm a safe driver.” He mumbled to himself, a small chuckle leaving him.

Suddenly, he was blinded by the set of headlights driving towards him at an alarming speed. He swore and grappled with the steering wheel, trying to jerk it in a good direction, a safe direction. A scream got caught in his throat as the headlights only seemed to get brighter, bigger, and _closer_. Lance’s heart jumped in his chest, as he ran through a small prayer, hoping he’d be okay. Then a sickening crash rattled him to his core and his vision immediately went black, like someone snuffing out the only source of light in a sea of darkness.

Shiro set down his phone, humming softly. “Pidge just told me that Lance left, so I texted him to ask when he’d be back, but I guess he’s driving.” He told Keith, humming lightly. Keith looked up from where he lounged lazily across Shiro’s lap. “I hope he’s back soon, I wanna treat him to something special.” A sly smirk flashed across his lips, making Shiro snort. “And to think, you had-” He suddenly felt his heart drop for whatever reason. He paused, looking stricken… like he’d seen a ghost. Keith sat up, “Takashi, are you alright?” Shiro slowly shook his head, “Something is wrong… Very wrong.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. He glanced towards a picture hanging on the wall. It was nice, inconspicuous. A picture of them and all their friends, beaming in their graduation gowns. Lance, of course, had down something to stand out. The blue stripes he’d put on his graduation gown seemed… dimmer.

Lance’s eyes pried open against their will and suddenly a wave of pain washed over him. Everything **hurt**. He tried to lift his head, instead discovering that something was lodged in his neck and making it horribly painful to move. He took a deep shaky breath and found that his chest hurt too, almost like it’d been crushed. He glanced down a bit, “Oh thank god.” The two ring boxes were safe, nestled in the cupholders with only a tiny bit of debris and… blood? spilled onto their velvet exteriors. Lance lifted his arm, testing to see if he could stand the pain. It stung, enough to make him tear up, but he could move it. He slowly picked up the ring boxes and then his phone which had been knocked into the clutch. He then decided that he needed to call the people that mattered most.

Suddenly, Shiro’s phone erupted into Eliza Schuyler singing that she’s feeling so helpless. He glanced down to see a beautiful picture of Lance appear on his screen. Shiro scrambled for the phone, putting it on speaker and leaning close to Keith, “Lance? What’s up? Are you alright?” A surprisingly gurgly laugh followed, “Oh I’m perfectly fine, babes. No need to worry.” Keith saw it now too, the blue of a jacket of Lance’s strewn over the back of an armchair was fading. “No you’re not! What happened?” Keith demanded, thrusting himself from the couch to find shoes. “I think I may have gotten into an accident? Seems bad, I know, bu-” He was interrupted by his own groan of pain. “But I’m fine.” He finished. Shiro could hear his attempt at a smile through the phone, but he couldn’t see the colors fading around him through his tears. “Lance, Lance, please tell us where you are.” Shiro begged, rushing to get ready too. “Check my snapchat.” He laughed before bursting into a fit of coughs. “Keith, call 911! Lance, where are you?” Lance didn’t answer.

Lance was tired. He could feel his eyes fighting to close as he gazed towards the sky. He heard a loud ringing and tried to look around to find the bell, but it was nowhere to be seen and the movement hurt his neck. “Uh, ten minutes from… Colors.” Lance answered deliriously, now hearing Shiro nearly crying underneath the ringing. “Baby, why are you crying?” He asked, confused. “We’ll be there soon, Lance, stay awake, please.” Shiro assured him. “But Takashiiii ‘m tired.” He mumbled back, feeling his grip loosen on the phone. “Please Lance, stay awake for us!” Keith nearly roared, shocking a bit of life back into Lance. He closed his eyes a tiny bit, “Sorry, Keithy, I’m too tired to stay awake. I’ll call you guys back.” He murmured before slipping away once again.

Keith let out a scream of frustration as Lance’s line went silent once again. “Oh my god, Shiro, what’s gonna happen to him?” He asked, tugging at his long dark hair. Shiro hunched over the steering wheel, a mounting wave of anxiety and fear washing over him. “I really don’t know, but we have to find him.” Keith set about tracking Lance’s phone, finally finding it and inputting the directions. “We’re coming, Lance.” Shiro muttered under his breath, a small prayer following.

Lance woke up to Keith screaming. Keith was out of focus and blurry, but Lance could definitely tell that it was the voice of his lover. He tried to sit up, but Keith urged him not to. A man that could’ve possibly been Shiro let out a roar of anger and ripped the damaged car door right off its hinges. Lance choked a bit on the blood filling his throat as he fell out of the car into a familiar pair of arms. “Takashi!” He tried to say, the words really coming out a garbled mess of blood and spit. He turned his head violently, feeling something tear in his neck, to throw up blood and the remains of his dinner. “Takashiiii, Keeeeith,” He drawled, shuffling around and attempting to lift his arm to his shirt. Shiro tried to stop him from moving, but Keith held him back, not wanting him to accidentally hurt their badly injured boyfriend. Lance produced two velvet boxes from his shirt pocket, groaning a tiny bit as he nudged the blood splattered boxes to each of them. “I practiced this.” He murmured before taking a large, painful sounding breath.

“Takashi Shirogane, I’ve known you all my life. You’re my best friend in the entirely world and I’d do anything to keep you happy. I love you with all my heart, so please do me the honor of marrying me.” Lance rambled, barely able to keep his eyes opened, but he fought through the pain. Shiro was sobbing. He could see Lance’s eyes getting darker and darker as he faded away faster and faster.

Lance turned towards Keith, reaching to caress his cheek with a wince. “I got blood on you, sorry.” He mumbled, trying to wipe the bright red stain from Keith's face. “No no, it's okay baby. Help will be here soon, you have to hold on for us.” Keith begged, tears dripping down his cheek as he clutched onto Lance and Shiro. Lance coughed, but started speaking, “Keith Kogane, I love you so so much. You've done so much for me and helped me be good. Will you marry me?” Distantly, sirens started getting louder as they headed towards them. “They're almost here, darling, they're almost here.” Shiro whispered, but Lance looked like he was barely holding on.

“You guys-” He was interrupted by a tiny torrent of blood pouring from his mouth. He wiped at it before continuing, “Never answered. Will you marry me?” Keith sighed and nodded vigorously, “Of course we will, we'll marry you when you're all better. You'll get better.” He insisted, almost in denial. Shiro stroked Lance's hair from his face, “We'll marry you. One day.” He promised and leaned down to kiss Lance's forehead, making him smile. “I love you guys. You made my world beautiful.” He could barely keep his head up, but he managed to push the two bloody rings onto their fingers. “I love you. Take care...of each other…” He couldn't keep his head up anymore, relaxing his muscles and falling into Shiro's lap, a small smile crossing his lips as all his pain faded away. Shiro watched as his eyes turned completely black, staring up at the sky and his lovers, but not really seeing anything at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lance?? Lance??? Oh my fckn god he fckn ded


	27. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear. Oh dear.

Pidge had just said goodbye to one of their best friends, Lance McClain. He'd left their house about twenty minutes ago. They’d needed some help studying while Allura was out at the mall with Hunk and Shay. They'd been lounging on the couch before groaning, “Popcorn. Yes.” They stood to satisfy their hunger. They shuffled over to the kitchen and got out a grey bowl. They got a bag of popcorn and threw it into the radiation box, as Pidge affectionately called it. They looked back at the bowl in their hands, “Where did this bowl come from? I don't remember having a grey bowl.” They murmured. Then it hit them. It was the blue bowl. Now it was in pieces, scattered on the floor.

Pidge remembers feeling a strange numbness in their chest. They didn't know what it was. It stayed in their heart while they drifted through the motions of visiting and comforting Shiro and Keith who were really not taking it well. It stayed in their heart while they helped Shiro and Keith find some flowers for Lance with the help of their other friends who could still see the color blue. It stayed in their heart when they sat at a funeral for one of their best friends, staring at his coffin while his soulmates and family sobbed together. It stayed for a long time.

Lance woke up. He was laying in bed, in between Shiro and Keith who were snoring and facing away from each other. He smiled a bit and decided not to disturb them, getting out of bed by crawling over the bottom of their bed. If he had looked behind him, he'd have noticed that he didn't leave any wrinkles in the covers. 

He trotted downstairs, wondering why everything seemed so dark and dreary. He glanced around and shrugged, reaching to turn on a light, but for some reason he struggled with grasping the light switch. When he turned on the light, he saw her. A little girl, maybe five years old, was sitting cross-legged in Lance’s favorite chair. She was studying him intensely with a weird look in her eye. Her blonde ringlets shook as she reached and pointed a pale, chubby finger at him. “You! You're here!” She squealed. Lance jumped out of his skin, “Jesus christ, munchkin, you scared me!” 

He didn't realize that he didn't even know this girl until he looked back at her and saw that there was a teenage girl with long black hair and some very punk rock clothes holding a 3DS and looking at him with the same interested but disinterested look. “You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?” She asked before snorting, “Sorry, I've been playing Majora's Mask.” She waved the DS in his direction. Lance frowned, “Well, honestly, I'm more of a Breath of the Wild type but you do you. Where did that other girl go?”   
“It's me.”  
“But you don't look like her.”  
“Well you look like me.” Lance frowned at that and turned to the mirror. Then he screamed. Blood was caked in his hair and his neck had a large chunk of jagged plastic sticking out of the side and there were bones protruding from his arms. “Mirrors always show what's real.” The teenager mused. Lance put a hand to his heart, trying to feel less panicked but he couldn't even feel a ghost of his pulse.  
He's dead.

He heard Shiro walking down the set of stairs, and he turned, reaching out for him. “Shiro! Shiro, please wake me up!” He screamed but Shiro ignored him. For the first time ever, Shiro ignored him. His… soulmate. His best friend. “What's wrong with me?” He asked the girl, who had sprawled out in the armchair. “You're dead, dude. Nasty car crash. Your soulmates aren't taking it too well.” He turned back to Shiro to watch him pick up an open bottle of whiskey on the counter and start drinking from it. Lance turned in a circle, seeing the mess for the first time. A pile of blankets sat on the ground by the tv, pillows strewn about. Dirty dishes piled on the kitchen counters and coffee table, and Shiro didn't even seem to see them. He just sat at the island, nursing the alcohol as he put his head in his metal hand. 

“Oh my god…” Lance mumbled, turning to look at the girl, but she was gone. And he was… alone, living in a ghost of his own life. He drifted aimlessly through the house for weeks, having given up on trying to talk to Shiro and Keith. He had learned how to focus enough to turn off the tv and play with the lights, but Keith never said anything and Shiro dismissed it as faulty electricity. The two were falling apart. Keith's clothes hung off his thin frame, making him look like a skeleton. And Shiro smelled of liquor and tears. They were… broken.

Keith was so, so tired. He could barely pull himself out of bed and couldn't bring himself to eat. He just sat on the couch, curled up in blankets and feeling hollow and empty, like something had scooped out his insides. He missed Lance so much. Sometimes he thought he could still hear him, gently scolding him for not taking good care of himself. He felt faint hands on his shoulders and hair, possibly a side effect of craving human intimacy. Shiro had basically turned into a statue. All he ever did was drink, cry, and give half-hearted attempts at dinner that Keith couldn't stomach.

They were a mess. They knew, but they couldn't...really do much. They missed Lance with such a raw pain that Keith had nightmares about being covered in Lance's blood as he proposed to them. Shiro had bittersweet dreams about their wedding that would never happen, with Lance smiling and laughing as he held a bouquet of roses that Shiro couldn't see anymore. They hurt with such an awful pain that they could barely talk to each other for fear that their depression would morph them into something ugly to drive a wedge between them. They felt shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise it will eventually get better
> 
> also my birthday is in two days and this bitch is psyched


	28. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're starting to heal.
> 
> Someone steps in to help them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im blue dabba dee dabba da dedeedeeda dabba dee daba da dadadee

Allura is worried out of her fucking mind. She's so, so worried about her friends. Shiro and Keith, what she's seen of them, haven't been doing well. Shiro reeks of alcohol and depression, while Keith wastes away while locked inside himself, waiting for the person with the key. But the person with the key is dead.

 

Allura’s hand comes up to cover the quiet sob that escapes her as she sits in the library, trying to read a textbook for her Marketing class. The words bob and weave through the tears in her eyes and suddenly, two droplets of water drip off her nose and onto the page.She sniffles and covers her face, trying to keep herself under control so she can think of a way to help her friends. Then she gets it. If they don't have the strength to get better on their own, she'll just have to give them strength. She closes her textbook with an air of finality and starts texting all of her friends.

 

Shiro is looking for something. He knows he won't find it at the bottom of this bottle, but he keeps searching, hoping one day he'll be sober enough figure out what he needs so desperately. He glanced around the dark room, realizing that the light switch had been flicked off a while ago. 

 

He sighs deeply, dragging a hand down the rough stubble on his cheeks as he takes in the utter wreck their home has become. Dishes piled high in the sink, trash overflowing… is that a plate of spaghetti on the table? That's been sitting there long enough to turn green? Shiro holds back a gag.

 

He feels an overwhelming urge to do something, anything, just to feel normal and happy again. So he does all the dishes. He throws away the trash. He throws the spaghetti in with it and shuffles outside of their apartment to get to the trash receptacle by the elevator. He sees one of their neighbors, Mrs. Brooks and her young daughter, Taylor. Mrs. Brooks breaks out into a wide grin, “Shiro! It's so good to see you out and about!” She comes over and scoops him into a hug. Taylor grinned, “Hi Mr. Shiwo.” She waved as she gave Shiro a hug from her mother's arms. “Oh, it's nice to see you guys too.” Shiro smiled, suddenly feeling awful about how he and Keith have barely left their apartment in months, so much that the neighbors got worried.

 

“How are you and Keith holding up?” Mrs. Brooks said with a hint of motherly worry in her voice as she set down Taylor and told her to go to their apartment. Shiro frowned slightly, his shoulders slumping down. “We're not doing well… I think we'll get better. I really hope so. I don't want to lose Keith too.” He murmured. She smiled and gently put a hand on his shoulder, “It'll be alright, I swear. You'll survive this.” She promised, giving him a hug before going to get the door for Taylor and disappearing into her apartment. 

 

Shiro sighed quietly before feeling his phone buzz. Allura had texted him, “Hey Shiro, the gang's gonna come over in about an hour or so, okay? We're bringing food and games, so be prepared.” Shiro gasped before hurrying to clean up.

 

Keith had been sitting by the big window in their bedroom, staring outside at rain and trying his hardest not to think about how much Lance had loved the rain. He may have been crying a bit, but he barely noticed. But he did notice when Shiro rushed inside from the hallway, “Keith, everyone's coming over soon, we have to clean up.” He urged, scooping up blankets. “What's the point, Shiro? What's the point of anything when Lance isn't here?” Keith spat back with an acidity that even he was surprised by. 

 

Shiro stared at him, “Would Lance want you to just give up on everything?” 

“Well we wouldn't fucking know what he would want, would we?” He snarled back, thrusting himself up from the window seat and blacking out slightly from the fast movement. “We're never going to talk to him again! He fucking left us! He promised he wouldn't! He promised us, Shiro! He promised us!” Keith's rambles evolved into near-shrieking as tears streamed down his face.

 

Shiro watched in horror, watching his boyfriend who had barely expressed anything for the past months finally implode. Keith sunk to his knees, sobbing into his hands, “I miss him so fucking much!” Keith screamed, a hand coming up to claw at his hair. Shiro jumped, not sure how to defuse the situation. 

 

Suddenly, two pictures fell from their dresser. A picture of Lance in his graduation gown, all bright smiles and blissful ignorance, and another picture of Lance, on the deck of a boat in full scuba gear and posing with the dolphin soaring overhead. Keith and Shiro froze, staring at the two pictures. 

 

“Did you bump into the dresser?” Keith asked Shiro, who shook his head fervently. “Positive?” He mumbled, pushing himself up from the window seat to approach slowly. “What happened?” Shiro pondered, looking around for any explanation. He felt a chill wash over him, “What on earth is going on?” He asked, nearly jumping out of his skin. Keith shrugged, looking a bit pale. “We should clean that up.”

 

“I'll get the vacuum.” 

 

The two set about cleaning their apartment, hoping to make it at least look like they hadn't completely fallen apart for six months. A good ruse, but their bedroom now had a small pile of blankets that hid their dirty laundry. Finally, the doorbell rang. Shiro gave Keith a reassuring look, having to put on a strong face. Keith attempted a smile, but it was a bit more of a slight grimace.

 

Slowly, friends poured in. Pidge, wearing a grey swe- no, that's their green sweatshirt, was followed by Hunk and Shay, who were carrying a mountain of tupperware. Allura brought up the rear, holding a garbage bag over her shoulder. She immediately grabbed Shiro in a hug, squeezing him tight. “Doing better?” She whispered in his ear, pushing up on her tiptoes. “A bit.” He smiled. And if he smelled a bit too strongly of liquor, she didn't comment.

 

Hunk and Shay set about laying out a meal for them to enjoy as a group of friends… a family. Pidge had sat next to Keith on the couch, and silently rested their head on him. Shiro stayed in Allura's arms, suddenly believing that he didn't have to be so strong all the time. She led him over to the table and smiled, “So we brought board games, movies, the entire box set of some old nineties cartoon about robots or something. Maybe lions? I dunno. But it's up to you guys.”

 

“I could run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.” Pidge offered, pushing up their glasses with an audible noise. “Darling, I love you, but normal nerds don't wanna play with you, so I don't think depressed nerds do either.” This made Keith snort, jostling Pidge from his shoulder. “I'm a depressed nerd.” He mumbled with a bit of a smirk. “Yeah, and you're our depressed nerd.” Pidge elbowed him, only to receive a flick to the forehead. They were absolutely grinning.

 

Shiro was smiling too. He was so, so happy to see Keith smile again. Or at least get half way there. Then the lights flickered and dimmed. “Woah, what's up with the lights?” Hunk asked, bring a bowl of mashed potatoes to the table. “I think they're faulty. For like the past three months, they randomly cut out. The TV and doorbell do it too.” Shiro shrugged. “I could check it out for you later, if you want.” Shay offered, smiling brightly as she set down a loaf of warm bread. “Nah, it'll be fine.”

 

An hour later, Shiro felt closer to normal. He laughed with his friends and he was actually eating real food! Not takeout or alcohol. His stomach was practically crying out of thanks. Keith felt better too. He smiled a few times and he even mustered the energy to comb his hair when Allura's fingers got caught while trying to braid it. “Okay, who wants to play board games?” Pidge dove for the trashbag, digging out classics like Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Sorry. “I also slipped a ouija board in the cart while Lura wasn't looking.” Pidge smirmed, tugging it out of the bag.

 

Shiro’s interest simultaneously flatlined and piqued. Allura gasped, “Seriously, Pidge? That's not cool.” She scolded. Keith sat up slightly, “No, Allura, it's fine. It's just a dumb toy.” 

 

“I think they're real.” Hunk murmured, draping an arm around Shay, who merely shrugged. “I… It's fine. Let's just mess around with it.” Shiro finally spoke up after a few beats of silence. “Fine, but if you guys bring some bad juju down on your house, I'm gonna be outie.” Allura stuck out her tongue before helping Pidge set up.

 

Lance was probably the happiest he'd been since he'd died. He watched his friends, his family, pull Keith and Shiro out of the drowning sea of depression. Sure, they wouldn't heal immediately, but they were smiling now and acting like functioning human beings. He may have accidentally fucked with the lights, but nobody really noticed him.

 

He spectated, occasionally opening his mouth to say a joke before remembering that they didn't know he was there. He was going to return to sulking in their bedroom before remembering Keith's breakdown that he'd halted by breaking two pictures. “Guess not.” He huffed. He drifted aimlessly before hearing Pidge say something about a Ouija board.

 

“I'd murder them if I wasn't already dead.” Lance scowled at the board, not trusting the devil board for a second. He watched the six of them circle around the table and gently place their fingers on the planchette. Then he realized.

 

He's the ghost here. He could absolutely fuck with them. A wicked grin crawled across his face. 

 

“Okay, so, is anybody here?” Pidge asked to the silent room after running through the chant. More or less, nobody was expecting anything to happen. “This is silly.” Allura muttered. “Shh, be nice to the spirits.” Hunk scolded. She rolled her eyes, but she shut up. Pidge opened their mouth to say something else when the temperature dropped ten degrees. “Holy shit.” Shiro mumbled.

 

He turned to look at the light switch, which stayed firmly in the on position as the light overhead waxed and waned like the moon. “Oh my fucking god, you got a ghost in our living room!” Keith exclaimed. Slowly, the planchette started moving, much to the chagrin of the participants. 

 

“D-E-E-Z…. Oh my god no.” Pidge read out before realizing the self-fufilling prophecy about to take place as the planchette spelled out the end of the dead meme. “Obviously ghosts would like dead memes.” They muttered. All of them shivered as a faint laugh that felt vaguely familiar snickered.

 

Lance smiled a tiny bit, finally having a way to communicate with his friends. He had to use this properly. He wanted to let Shiro and Keith know he was still here, watching over them. He needed them to be okay.

 

Pidge sighed, “Okay, no memes, ghost. What's your name?” Slowly, the board spelled out, “You guys know me.” 

 

“That's an awful name.” Shay murmured. “I don't think that's its name. Can you give us a hint?” The board spelled out, “Blue.” Pidge frowned, “Did this ghost see Love, Simon?” 

 

“No.” And he's mad about it. Lance would've loved to see that. He huffed and just spelled out his name. Keith immediately paled, “That's not funny, Pidge.” He scowled at the board. Pidge shook their head violently, “No, I wouldn't do that! You guys watched me unwrap it!”

 

Slowly it dissolved into an angry argument, but then the planchette started moving again. “C-A-L-M.” Hunk read out. “Lance wants us to calm down.” 

 

“That  _ is not _ Lance!” Keith sneered. “It can't be.” The temperature dropped even more as the planchette moved rapidly. “Red and blue makes blue? That's not artistically accurate.” Allura murmured. Both Shiro and Keith sat up ramrod straight. “L-Lance?” Shiro mumbled. The planchette moved to Yes and started to spin rapidly. 

 

Keith felt his stomach drop. Had they actually summoned the ghost of their dead boyfriend into the apartment? He felt a bit faint, breath coming in short pants. He couldn't focus on any of his concerned friends. He felt himself growing distant before he felt a cold palm on his back, slowly drawing circles there. Just like Lance used to.

 

Shiro was terrified. He remembered all the faint touches when he was crying and grieving. He remembered returning to the room to find a bottle he'd been drinking from knocked over and spilling its contents on the ground. The lights, the tv, the faint footsteps following him up the stairs when he finally went to bed. Had Lance been there the whole time? Watching them crumble without their glue to hold them together? Watching him dissolve into a depressed alcoholic? He felt… afraid.

 

Afraid that Lance would be disappointed in them. 

 

Afraid that he just wanted to move on and their attachment was tethering him here.

 

Afraid that they were going to join him.

 

“Lance?” He murmured, staring at the board. “I-A-M-H-E-R-E.” Keith had started to cry, slow tears dripping lethargically. “Do you guys want us to leave?” Allura asked slowly. Shiro nodded, after a moment of silence. Slowly, their friends filed out of the room. Hunk looked back at them and smiled.

 

Keith could barely stay awake. He felt himself getting… shoved down. He felt like something had taken over his body with him and mostly in control. He started to protest, but Lance's voice, a voice he hadn't heard in six months, whispered to him, “I wanna talk to Shiro, babe. Gimme like five minutes.” And Keith blacked out.

 

Shiro watched with horror as Keith suddenly swayed, hands coming off of the Ouija. He coughed and shook his head, a bit dazed looking. His eyes were out of focus, and a bit glazed over. Then he blinked. His eyes were blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See! I promised things would get better!


	29. Promise Me Something Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not a chapter, just a plea

okay soooo

I wrote this fic for my best friend's birthday last year. we spitballed this together and his favorite scene from the entire spitballing process was the Ouija board scene that's coming up/ happening now

So I want all of you guys reading this to make a promise to me

June 1st, if I haven't finished this fic yet, you guys are totally allowed to yell and scream in my inbox because I have to finish this for him by June 27th

Hopefully, since we're like maybe 2-3 chapters from the end I'll stay on top of the game, but I have finals and AP test coming up, so I may drop off the face of the earth for like a month, but June 1st, y'all better yell at me to get off my ass and finish this once and for all

Hope you guys like it

(also read my other shit)

love you guys


	30. Visitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love crosses all boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short but it's 3am so that's just how it be.

Shiro stared, blinking quickly. He hadn’t been able to see the color blue in six months. And suddenly, Keith’s eyes were blue. Keith’s rigid shoulders slouched and he gazed upon his hands with a bit of shock. “Holy shit, I didn’t think that would actually work.” It was Keith’s voice, but looser and more relaxed, with a running undertone of beach vibes.

“Lance?” Shiro’s voice shook more than he really wanted it to, but it didn’t matter when he suddenly had a handful of Lance in Keith’s body draped over him. A dark part of his mind wondered if Keith and their friends were playing an awful trick on him. But then Keith grabbed at the hair at the nape of his neck and buried his face into his shoulder and mumbled, “It’s so good to touch you, Takashi.” 

Shiro gasped, “It’s you… Oh my god.” He whispered, clutching onto his boyfriend… boyfriends? It didn’t matter. Thick tears were streaming down his face as he held onto Lance tightly, refusing to let him go. “It’s me. I promised I’d never leave you, right?” He reached up and cupped his cheek, gently stroking Shiro’s cheekbone.

Then Lance pulled away and put his hands on his hips, happy smile disintegrating into a disappointed frown. “I promised, Shiro. Even if I had been able to move on, I still wouldn’t have, not with the state you two are in. You absolutely reek!” He held his nose and Shiro had to hold in a laugh because of how much he was reminded of Mrs. McClain. “You have to stop drinking, Shiro, please! Not only is it distasteful, it’s unhealthy!” He scolded. 

Shame burnt at Shiro’s ears as he ducked his head, “Yeah, we really have let ourselves go. I promise we’ll try and get better.” Lance nodded, seeming satisfied. “You have to take care of Keith too, being in his body makes me feel so tired. Ugh. He’s so thin.” Lance prodded at Keith’s ribs, frowning. Shiro took note of how baggy Keith’s clothes seemed and nodded, “Okay, I will.” 

“Remember, Takashi. I love you. And I always will. I don't have to be here for you to know that.” He reached up, brushing away Shiro’s tears. “You're stronger than this, mi amor.” He whispered, smiling at him. “I missed you so much.” Shiro put a hand over Lance’s holding it to his cheek. “I’m sorry we disappointed you.”  
“You couldn't disappoint me. You only make me worry.”  
“Sorry…”  
“Shut up.” Lance snickered before leaning forward to kiss Shiro, “May I talk to Keith now?” Shiro nodded and Lance grinned. “Alright. I love you.” Keith’s body slumped forward and the bits of green and blue that had been returned to Shiro were stolen again.

Shiro closed his eyes, feeling a warm presence encroaching on his body as he let go. He heard faint humming and gentle hands on his shoulders. “Just a few minutes, Shiro.” And he blacked out.

Keith regained consciousness with a splitting headache and a deep chill in his bones. He briefly wondered if he’d fallen or been fatigued, but he was sitting pretty on the living room floor in front of a possibly asleep Shiro. “Shiro? Babe?” His voice croaked, somehow feeling disused. He reached out to tap Shiro’s shoulder, considering the possibility of him having drunk too much when his eyes opened. They were blue.

Keith yelped, arm drawing back like a rubber band. “What the fuck!?” He shouted, nearly falling backwards. “Woah, chill out, Red.” A voice he didn't think he'd hear again answered. “Lance?” He refocused on Shiro, who smirked, looking like a mirror image of their lost love. “What's going on?” He questioned, a bit suspicious. “Uh, I possessed you to talk to Shiro and now it's your turn to talk! So how ya been? Anything you wanna-” He grunted when he was interrupted by a handful of Keith knocking him to the floor. “This is madness!” Keith declared before kissing him square on the lips.

“Happy to see me, I hope?” Lance chuckled as he held him close. “It's weird being Shiro’s buff body. You and me are similar sizes but I feel bloated.” Keith snickered, “That's not what we should be focusing on.” Lance nodded, “Right, I need to scold you.” He coughed before crossing his arms, “You two have to take better care of yourselves! Look at you, you're skin and bones! Your pretty hair looks awful! Come on, Keith!” Keith flushed, “Sorry I was depressed.”  
“Sorry I died.” A beat of silence passed before Lance snickered, “Death isn't that bad. There's this weird girl who shows up. She changes ages and it's kinda weird, but she plays Legend of Zelda when she's a teenager.”  
“Is Death a gamer?”  
“Uh, a little bit, yes.” Lance nodded before leaning down and kissing Keith’s forehead, “Promise me you'll take better care of yourselves. Shiro needs help as much as I do. Tell Allura to keep doing these things. I love seeing all of you guys together again.” Keith nodded, “Do you have to go so soon?”

Lance’s eyes drifted to the hallway where a woman was standing. She narrowed her eyes at him before nodding her head slowly, dark hair shifting like a waterfall. “Yes, I have to go soon. This isn't really good for me or Shiro.” He nodded before kissing Keith once more. “Be good. I love you.” Keith smiled, reaching up to wipe at his tears, “I love you more.”   
“I love you most.” With that, Shiro slumped over and the blue faded from Keith’s vision again. His heart twinged but he knew exactly where Lance was and that he still loved them. He never left them. He's right here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious, the description of the personification of Death is from an original thing that me and Caleb made called Monde Du Monstres. It's a monster world, idk what else to tell you. 
> 
> In this Death shifts from child to teenager to adult at random and acts as such. The Death in this chapter is adult Death, a serious bamf who takes souls without mercy.


	31. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The end.

Keith and Shiro… recovered. After a surprising and eyeopening visit, they remembered that Lance would always be with them, watching and protecting. Keith would wake up from a nap to a glass of water and a blanket draped over him, even when Shiro wasn't home. Shiro found his stash of alcohol tampered with and shattered across the floor. He could even hear the faint whisper of someone scolding him in Spanish. They recovered.

Keith and Shiro healed. They attended therapy together, and separately. Shiro had a new addiction now (Crosswords). Keith was put on a diet and exercise regiment that Shiro helped him stick to with a smile on his face. Their friends came over weekly to help them feel less alone, and they even went on trips together. They didn't go to the beach much though. But, nonetheless, they healed.

Keith and Shiro  _ lived _ . They went on vacations Lance had always wanted to go on. They moved, inexplicably taking Lance with them. He let them know. They got cats! Blue, Red, and Purple. Keith called them their girls. Shiro learned to take it easy, having lazy days with Keith and their cats. They… got married. It was hard, honestly, without Lance, but he was always with them. Because of their love, he lived.

And once it was their time to join him, he greeted them with open arms. “You were wonderful. And see, I held my promise. I never left you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I have a lot to say about this. I've worked on this for nearly a whole year. (Or maybe it has been a year). I'm gonna make another chapter to answer questions you have and explain why I wrote this and my processes.
> 
> Also, if I'm honest, I just wanted it to be done. It was time, you know? Okay, see you soon. Love y'all.


	32. The End.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's done

Okay, I wrote this for ny best friend, Caleb, and it's his birthday today so this is where we're at. A bitch took a qhole fucking year to get to the scene he actually wanted me to write (the ouija scene). Here are a few things.

\- Lance is a ghost because his soulmates are still living. In this, if ur soulmate dies, then that means they're not on the same plane. The reason they gain back color when lance possesses is them is because he's on the plane again.

\- Keith and Shiro were originally supposed to die tragically. Shiro was going to die of liver failure and Keith was going to die from either self-neglect or stepping in front of a truck yk.

-Death. The personification of Death in this is an oc from a world caleb and I made. She changes age at random, and she's dating Time, a genderfluid hipster who never knows what the fuck is up and can't dress. It's a monster world so if you wanna hear more about it, message me on tumblr @full-of-pandemonium

\- I'm kind of over Voltron. That's why this ended so abruptly. Sorry, but I probably won't finish my other fics. I do have other fandoms that I may write for some day. (recently all my writing has been for a my hero academia au with caleb)

\- I seriously appreciate all readers. I loved getting comments and feedback and I love all of you. You're all amazing. You should read my other stuff if you want more because this shit is done.

Happy Birthday, Caleb. Dumb bitch, ily.


End file.
